The Path Less Taken
by DragonScouter
Summary: The Dragon Scouters are back and there adventures have only just begun. There will be many obstacles on their path of life and they must all realize that they must have one thing if they are to survive: trust. Rated just in.
1. Messages

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Well, this is going to be interesting.**

**Chaom: What is dear?**

**Pandimala: Well, it seems the Authoress is trying to do something immensely silly.**

**Chaom: What is that?**

**Pandimala: She was challenged by Hindsight to dress up like a clown today and stay like that for this whole chapter.**

***in the distance***

**Hindsight: You look so fragging ridiculous Authoress! *falls to floor laughing***

**Authoress: *dressed as clown* Shut up.**

* * *

Ch. 1: Messages

The cool night air did little to calm Pandimala's stress as it gently massaged her wings. The past seven solar cycles had been extremely stressful for Pandimala. From their first fight with the 'Cons on Earth to the meeting she had a few cycles ago with Ultra Magnus.

Flashback:

_Pandimala was surprised when Ultra Magnus had asked for a private meeting. He usually would ask for a teleport to the Dragon Scouter base and discuss whatever he had to with herself plus whoever was there. But, she decided not to argue about it and had Chaom teleport her directly to the control room on the Elite Guard ship. Once the teleport was over, she glanced around and saw that Ultra Magnus was standing there._

"_Hey Ultra Magnus. Why did this have to be a private meeting?" Pandimala asked._

_Ultra Magnus walked up to her before saying, "The council and I are leaving tomorrow to return to Cybertron."_

"_I'm sorry you have to go but why did you have to tell me this in private?" Pandimala questioned, confusion laced into her question._

_Ultra Magnus sighed before saying, "Well, to help smooth out the rough edges of our alliance, I figured that it would be wise to have a group of four Scouters come back with us."_

"_Oh, I see. Now I am glad that you called for this meeting to be private." Pandimala stated._

"_Who would you send Pandimala?"_

_Pandimala shook her helm and answered, "I don't know Ultra Magnus. That's a really big decision and I don't want to make the wrong one."_

_Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "I understand. But please get an answer to me by tomorrow at mid solar cycle."_

_Pandimala nodded and walked off the ship. As soon as she was a ways away, she transformed before telling Chaom that she was going for a quick flight to think._

End of Flashback.

And that was how she found herself in her current predicament. She had to pick four bots to send back to Cybertron with the Autobots. She knew that a couple of them would want to stay here on earth, like Balm and Zarron. Balm would want to stay to spend more time with Ratchet and Zarron was going to ask Bumblebee if he would like to be trained to be a scout. Pandimala didn't want to ruin that for them and since they would be staying, that meant that Stormfire and Beam would as well.

But, besides Chaom and herself, every other bot would want to go back to Cybertron and get away from Sentinel. Now don't get that wrong, Pandimala would love to go back to Cybertron as much as the next bot. But, she knew that she had to stay behind to break up any fights. But, she still had a multitude of other bots to choose from.

Pandimala pulled a barrel roll as she allowed the choices to flow through her processor. Once she leveled herself out, she realized that the only logical choice for bots would be either Team Galaxy or all of the Guardians except for the twins, because they had bondmates not in the Guardians. Team Galaxy would be able to handle stressful situations but the Guardians would be able to have more sympathy from the Autobot populace due to their popularity. How would she decide?

She decided to give her systems a wakeup call so she veered toward Lake Erie before going into a nose dive and flying into the water. She felt relieved when she felt the water wash away all of the dirt that was on her wings. She then kicked on her thrusters and shot out of the lake, cool air drying her chassis and leaving a nice calm feeling.

As she flew into the moon's light, she made her decision. She would send Hinge, Chem, Blackbit, and Tana to Cybertron. Their popularity would help smooth out the alliance and make the Autobots more accepting of them. Plus, they still owned their headquarters so they wouldn't have to depend on the Autobots for boarding. So, she got on her comm. link and said, "Hey; is anybot there?"

"Hey dear. You need a teleport?"

"Yeah, how did I know that you would be the one there?" Pandimala responded.

Chaom laughed and said, "Well, your brother and Betaxia are here with me annoying the scrap out of me."

"We are the ones on monitor duty so we are supposed to be here." Pandimala heard Betaxia say to Chaom.

She let out a laugh and said, "Well, you get me back there and I can take him off your servos."

"You got it sis." Anarcum stated.

Pandimala soon felt the tingling feeling that came with teleporting so she quickly transformed into her bi-pedal mode before the scene in front of her optics changed. Soon, she saw Chaom smiling at her as she walked off of the teleport pad. She gave him a quick hug before he said, "So, what was that meeting with Ultra Magnus about?"

Pandimala sighed before saying, "He requested that four of us Scouters return to Cybertron with him and the council tomorrow. He asked me to have the four bots ready by tomorrow when they leave."

"Now I know why you needed that time to think." Chaom stated in understanding.

"Do you know who you are going to ask?" Anarcum questioned.

Pandimala nodded and said, "I went through all of the variables and I think we should send Tana, Blackbit, Hinge, and Chem."

Betaxia raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "Why those four?"

Pandimala realized that Betaxia and Anarcum didn't know the standing that those four used to have so she said, "The four of them, along with the mech twins, make up a group called the Guardians. When they were all still Autobots, they were highly respected in almost all levels of society. I believe that, using that respect, we can smooth out this alliance."

Anarcum and Betaxia nodded in understanding before Chaom got on the comm. system before saying, "Will Tana, Blackbit, Chem, and hinge please come to the teleport room."

A few clicks later, the four guardians walked into the room. Pandimala couldn't hold back a chuckle when she saw all of the dents that covered Hinge's and Chem's chassis.

"We were just doing some team training when you called." Tana stated to Pandimala's unspoken question.

Hinge then asked, "Why did you need to see us 'Mala?"

"Ultra Magnus requested that I pick four bots to go back to Cybertron with himself and the council to smooth out the alliance and, after much deliberating, I have decided to ask you four. Will you go back to Cybertron with the Autobots?"

The four Guardians nodded and Blackbit said, "Yeah, we will go back. It'll be nice to see Slapjack and Radar again."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Ok, I'll contact Ultra Magnus tomorrow. Go on and gather your things. Then get a good recharge."

The four Guardians then left and Pandimala sat down in an open chair.

"You look exhausted." Anarcum stated.

"Pandimala let out a small smile and said, "Well, I have been more stressed in the past few solar cycles then I have been in a long time."

A peaceful quiet then settled over them all before Chaom turned to Betaxia and Anarcum before asking, "So, how have you two been adjusting?"

Betaxia glanced at Anarcum before saying, "Well, it is nice not to hear yelling from Megatron ever night before recharge."

Pandimala tilted her helm to the side slightly before asking, "Did you two get yelled at?"

Anarcum shook his helm and said, "Nah, most of the time it was Starscream who got yelled at. And if it wasn't Screamer, it was Blitzwing because of his personalities. They could really be annoying at times."

Pandimala grew a thoughtful look at that statement before her systems registered that she needed to recharge. So, she stood up and motioned to Anarcum and Betaxia before asking, "Would you two mind taking over monitor duty? My systems are saying that I need some recharge."

Betaxia smiled and nodded before saying, "Sure 'Mala, Anarcum and I can handle it."

Pandimala nodded in thanks before heading to her room with Chaom. Once they arrived, Pandimala got onto the berth next to Chaom before allowing her thoughts to wonder. The statement that Betaxia made about Starscream was bothering her. From the memories she had of him and Megatron, she couldn't find a single hint of hatred between the two. Now it seemed like they were fighting all the time. What had happened to those two since the last time she saw them?

Pandimala wanted to think more on the subject but her systems were starting to shut down and she was soon in recharge.

* * *

When he returned to the Decepticon ship, Megatron called a meeting with all of the Decepticons on the ship. When they were all gathered, Megatron said, "My fellow Decepticons, during our previous skirmish with the Autobots, we discovered that there were more Autobots here than we knew about. Not only that, we learned that they bring serous power to the Autobot side. But, there has been something bothering me about that encounter."

"What could that be, oh glorious leader?" Lugnut asked.

Megatron held in a sigh at the praise before saying, "The Autobots that we did not count on were different. They all had lime green optics and I couldn't see any trace of the Autobots symbol on their chassis, only that dragon symbol."

Blitzwing nodded and added, "Jes, and zhey also seem to fight more like us Decepticons zhen zhe Autobots."

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes, that is true and that is why I want to find out as much information as possible about them. Soundwave here will send in one of his symbiotes to hack their systems and the other Autobots ones to find any mention of this group of bots. The rest of us will make it our goal right now to capture the yellow green medic femme we did before."

"Why do we need the medic femme?" Starscream asked.

"Well, she was the easiest to capture last time and I believe that she will be the one to most easily talk to us. Plus, most medics are usually willing to not throw a punch when they are unchained to receive their ration of energon."

Razor nodded and said, "Yes, and I will be the first to admit that if I, as a medic, was captured by the enemy, as long as they treated me hospitably, that I would not attack them if they unchained me to give me energon."

Malice also nodded and said, "Plus, if we play our cards right, we could end up bringing the fragging war to an end."

All of the Decepticons, including Megatron, nodded in agreement at that statement. They only started this war to fight the council. Megatron had been enraged when the homes of femmes not in the war and sparklings were targeted by an unknown attacker. He was even more enraged when the council had blamed him and his Decepticons for it. Now, he knew that a small number of his normal ranking troops were like that, but he did not order those buildings to be destroyed.

"Yes, so we need a plan." Megatron stated.

"Lord Megatron," Shockwave started, "I believe that we should figure out if she is a part of a patrol group."

Megatron mulled over this idea for a click before saying, "Yes I agree." He then paused before saying, "I want Pandemonium and Starscream to leave right before the human time called midnight and I want you to observe their patrol patterns. I want to know when they switch patrol, how many bots are on each patrol, and especially what bots are on the patrol with the yellow green femme and when she is on patrol."

Pandemonium and Starscream nodded and the other Decepticons left the room, leaving Megatron to mull over the thoughts that were plaguing his processor. How much longer was he going to continue fighting this almost pointless war?

Every now and then, bots that supported his Decepticons would send him messages, asking when all the fighting would end. Normally, he would send a general response out saying that victory was growing ever closer. But, his latest message had been written by a just-turned youngling. The youngling had drawn him a picture of, what Megatron assumed was, his family. There was no message associated with the picture but the femme, who Megatron assumed was the carrier, had a Decepticon insignia and the mech, whom he assumed was the sire, had an Autobot one. The youngling in the middle, who he assumed was the sender, was frowning and a symbol was above his helm that was half Autobot and half Decepticon with a question mark in the middle.

It was with that picture that he realized that this war was separating families apart. Both the Autobot council and himself were forcing this horrible thing to happen to many families and it had to stop. But, he knew that he had to keep fighting until he could live without the rule of the council hanging over him.

With those thoughts still churning in his processor, Megatron decided to check in for the night and headed into his berthroom. He knew that the upcoming solar cycles were going to be very crucial and he had to be prepared.

* * *

**Tana: Nice clown outfit Authoress.**

**Blackbit: Yeah, it really brings out the best in you.**

**Authoress: *growls***

**Stormfire: Oh don't be that way Authoress. You got yourself into this.**

**Authoress: *walks away***

* * *

**AN: So here it is! I wanted to get the Guardian back story in first because the Guardians are going to have some interactions with many of the bots mentioned in their stories. I hope this turned out good. If you have any suggestions or feedback please review. But please no flames. If you must flame then P.M. me please.**


	2. Spy Stories

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Here we go, round two bots.**

**Chaom: Yes, and now we get to have some fun.**

**Authoress: We can't be sure that you two?**

**Chaom: What do you know Authoress?**

* * *

Ch. 2: Spy Stories

Pandemonium was bored. Both Starscream and he had been patrolling since the human time of midnight and it was now around five o'clock in the evening. In the beginning, the two of them separated and tracked down each patrol group. They saw that the first group was made up of five bots and they patrolled from midnight to four in the morning. The second group was made up of four bots and they seemed to patrol from four in the morning to eight in the morning. The third patrol group that they saw was made up of six bots again and seemed to patrol from eight in the morning to the time the humans called noon. The fourth patrol group was made up of six bots and they would patrol from noon to four. The fifth and latest patrol group was made up of five bots and if they kept to the pattern, they would patrol from four to eight. Since neither of them had seen the emergency femme, they assumed that she would be in the final patrol group.

The two seekers decided, after the fourth group, that they would fly together to watch each other's backs.

"Hey Starscream, something has been bothering me for some time." Pandemonium stated.

"What?" Starscream asked.

"What happened between you and Megatron?"

Pandemonium heard Starcream's thrusters stall for a click before the seeker asked, "What do you mean Pandemonium?"

"What I mean is that you and Megatron used to be close friends. Now a night doesn't go by when I don't hear you two arguing." Pandemonium explained.

Starscream sighed and transformed into his bi-pedal mode, making Pandemonium do the same, and both hovered there for a nano-click before he said, "Well, Megatron changed after we left Cybertron. He became a cruel warlord who craved power. He started to punish his soldiers for not succeeding and would inflict pain on them. Now, I know I'm not perfect and I will admit that I too went down a path of power hunger and I was always trying to take over the Decepticon leadership, even went as far as attaching a bomb to Megatron. Needless to say that Megatron didn't trust me after that."

He then paused before continuing, "During Megatron's last battle on Earth, I offlined. See, I used to have a piece of the Allspark in my helm that was keeping me alive and during the battle, the two Autobot Cyber ninjas called Prowl and Jazz gathered all of the shards and recreated most of the Allspark. Well, mine was taken and I fell to the ground below, a gray offline shell."

"But, how are you online now?" Pandemonium questioned.

"Well, from what I have heard, the Autobots took my shell with them to Cybertron and started to study me to see how my flight systems worked. Anyway, they were running currents all through my chassis when something miraculous happened. One of those currents rekindled my spark. The Autobot scientists were so surprised at my reconstitution that it was easy to disable the whole lot of them. I then ran straight to the stockades. See, my time offline opened my optics to allow me to see the wrong I was doing against the Decepticons so I vowed from that solar cycle on that I would be a loyal follower of Megatron. You can imagine how surprised they all were to see me rescuing them all. In return, Megatron allowed me back into the ranks of the Decepticons and took the bounty off my helm. But I was not the only one who was changed. Megatron also changed during his time in the stockades because when he got out, he started to treat us all with respect. But he still has problems trusting me so that is why you hear us arguing."

Pandemonium nodded and went to answer but some bot sized movement on the ground level near the Autobot station caught his optic. "Hey Starscream; movement on the ground floor by the Autobot base."

Starscream looked down and nodded before saying, "I see them, let's land on that building there to get a better look."

Pandemonium nodded and landed silently onto the appointed roof. They both then crept toward the edge and watched as the Autobot council and Ultra Magnus walked out of the station and towards the awaiting ship. Pandemonium's optics widened in surprise when he saw four bots, three mechs and a femme, with that same symbol from the other group of bots and green optics. "Do you know who those four bots are?" Pandemonium whispered to Starscream.

"Well, from our intelligence, the three mechs are a part of the Guardians. The femme looks like a Guardian member that the Autobots had claimed was offline."

Pandemonium nodded in understanding. Those four were probably acting as guards to the council and Ultra Magnus until they returned to Cybertron. Pandemonium turned his attention back to the ship as its engines started and it rose into the air. Pandemonium had to resist shooting the ship as it flew away. This would be a great time to strike a blow at the Autobots but he knew that they were outnumbered and it would be suicide to try.

Starscream took the opportunity to say, "It seems like our fight here has grown into less of a problem."

Pandemonium smirked and said, "No kidding. Ultra Magnus and the council were the order for the troops here so there will be some in-fighting. Especially since Shockwave stated in his report that the one called Sentinel Prime loves to take charge but not many Autobots like him. Plus, Ultra Magnus and those other four bots were strong fighters and they are losing them now."

Starscream smiled at that statement because he knew that Pandemonium was right. And, with them gone, it would make the capture of the medic femme that much easier.

"I believe that we should get back into the air before some bot notices us." Pandemonium suggested. Starscream nodded and the two seekers turned back into their jet modes before returning to the skies.

* * *

Tana was a little saddened when they left Earth's atmosphere. This was the first time in a long time that she had left the small planet. Tana felt better when she felt a wave of comfort travel from Blackbit to herself and she felt his arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Hey, what's with all the sad feelings Tana? We're going home to Cybertron." Blackbit asked.

Tana leaned against him and said, "I know, but Earth is like a second home to me. I feel like I did when I left Cybertron all of those stellar cycles ago."

Blackbit kissed the top of her helm before saying, "I know sweet spark, but just think about how much fun it will be to see Slapjack and the others again. You know, he took your disappearance kind of hard."

Tana smiled and said, "It will be nice to see the surprised look on his faceplate."

The two then walked back to the control room and saw Hinge, Chem, Ultra Magnus, and Chromia. "Hey Blackbit, Tana; you two are just in time. We were discussing what is going to happen once we land."

Tana lifted an optic ridge at that and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, we have to introduce you bots to the Autobot community as an allied faction." Ultra Magnus answered.

"Does that mean we have to be in a ceremony?" Blackbit whined.

Hinge nodded and added, "And a parade as well. We will be wearing our cloaks beforehand so we won't be recognized."

Tana's optics lit in hope as she asked, "Does that mean we can go to Slapjack's place first?"

Hinge nodded and said, "Yes. We can go see Slapjack first."

"But, what are we supposed to do after the parade and ceremony?" Chem asked.

"Well, there will undoubtedly be some bots who will want to take pictures. So, after that I think it would be a wise idea that you four go and watch the boot camp training at the academy and give some advice to our instructors. Actually, tomorrow is the first day for one group so I believe that would be an acceptable time for you to go. That way, you can watch them train from the start and help correct things right away." Ultra Magnus suggested.

Tana nodded but said, "Yeah. Too bad we can't get any more Guardian recruits."

"Why not?" Chromia asked.

Hinge raised an optic brow and said, "Because they are in training to be Autobots and we are Dragon Scouters."

Ultra Magnus let out a chuckle at that and stated, "I don't remember reading in the treaty that you couldn't look for recruits among the bots who haven't become full Autobots yet."

Chromia nodded and smirked before adding, "Yes, and don't Dragon Scouters add members who don't want to be Autobot, Decepticon, or Neutral?"

Chem nodded but added, "Yes, but us four can't bring someone directly to the Dragon Scouters. Most bots have to talk to Chaom or Pandimala about joining and I imagine that transmission signals between Cybertron and Earth are poor at best."

"But?" Chromia encouraged.

"But, if we find a bot we wish to bring into the Guardians, we can by-pass their evaluation and will brand them the next time we are on Earth. And the likelihood of that happening is slim seeing as the Guardians have been around since before the war and we only have six members. Three of them were admitted before the war, two were admitted at the same time during the war, and our last one was Tana and she was admitted over one hundred stellar cycles ago." Chem finished.

The four Guardians then excused themselves before retiring to the rooms that the Autobots provided for them. Hinge and Chem shared a room and Blackbit and Tana shared the room to the right of the Hinge and Chem's room. When they arrived, Hinge said, "Ok, we all need to get some recharge if we are going to be in shape for when we arrive on Cybertron."

They all then went into their rooms. After they got washed up, Tana and Blackbit took a few sips of energon before getting on their berth. As Blackbit drew Tana close, he said through their bond, **I love you Tana.**

Tana smiled and snuggled closer to him before saying, **I love you too Blackbit. **The two then fell into a peaceful recharge.

* * *

As she drove with her patrol group down the streets of Detroit, Balm felt like something was off. At the beginning of their shift, she had felt like someone was watching her. She had performed a quick scan over the area she was in but nothing showed up on her sensors. She had been jumpy ever since her encounter with the Decepticons.

It was that experience that made her realize that she was one of the, if not the, weakest links on their team. She was not that great at fighting and she didn't know how to fight others. As a medic her dream was to just be able to help people. But, with the way that her life turned out, she couldn't be surprised that she had to fight the 'Cons. But, when she had tried to during the fight at the concert, she had failed miserably against the helicopter femme. She only got about two hits in when the femme had disarmed her and Balm had been knocked out.

Balm felt a wave of comfort go through her bond before Stormfire said, **Balm, you are a medic dear. You aren't supposed to like fighting. If you did like fighting I would think that something was messed up in that wonderful processor of yours. **

**Yes, but I am the weakest bot here. Even Ratchet knows how to fight well. I can't do scrap.**

**I think my wings are telling a different story. You are a very useful bot Balm. You help us all out when we are damaged on the battle field. **Stormfire comforted.

Balm was still feeling bad though so she said, **I'll talk to you later Storm.** She then blocked their bond from her side and continued to drive down the street.

"You feeling alright Balm?" Remcy asked as he pulled up next to her.

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my processor." Balm sighed.

"Care to talk about it?" He asked.

Balm would have shook her helm if she was in her bi-pedal mode but since she wasn't she just sighed and said, "No thanks. I can sort it out." She then drove on ahead.

* * *

Remcy was worried. Balm hadn't been acting like herself ever since she was captured by the 'Cons. She wasn't her normal happy shy self. Now, she was usually quiet and she only usually talked with Stormfire and even he had said that she was talking to him less. Remcy had known her for a long time and there had been precious few times when she had acted like this. Actually, he couldn't remember a single instance like this.

He dropped back so he was next to Ratchet before he said, "Hey Ratchet, something's wrong with Balm. She has been acting very strange lately."

"I've noticed. She has been acting this way ever since she was captured by the Decepticons." Ratchet answered.

"How did you know?" Remcy asked.

"I was her mentor for a few stellar cycles and she lived with me and helped me for thirty something stellar cycles after that. I think that I should know something about her moods." Ratchet retorted.

Remcy could have hit himself. Of course he knew that. "Ok, but how did you get through to her?"

"I talked to her." Ratchet answered like it was common knowledge.

"But she won't talk to any of us." Remcy argued. This was taking way too long.

Ratchet then answered, "I know and that is why I haven't tried. If she won't talk to her bondmate much about it and he was with her, than there is little to no hope that she will be telling us anytime soon."

Remcy huffed in disappointment before pulling ahead. He didn't like the fact that his friend was feeling down and she wouldn't let anyone close to help. While he worked as an intelligence officer, he learned how to find out information quickly and efficiently. But, none of the training in the world could have prepared him to get information out of a friend who had gone through a trauma. He revved his engine before racing up ahead.

* * *

Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons were waiting expectantly for Starscream and Pandemonium's return. When they finally arrived, Blitzwing asked, **"Vhat took jou two so long?" **

Pandemonium walked up to Megatron and said, "Please forgive the delay, we had to make sure that we were not detected by the Autobots. We didn't want them to get suspicious about our plan."

"So, what did you find out?" Megatron asked.

"Well," Starscream started, "One of the major things we witnessed was that the Autobot council and Ultra Magnus have left Earth with four of those strange Autobots who look like four of the Guardians."

Megatron nodded and said, "That is excellent news. That means that the Autobots will be without order and they are down some of their better fighters."

Pandemonium nodded and then gave Megatron the rest of the report, which included the number of bots on each patrol, what kind of bots were on each patrol, how long they were on patrol, and especially the information about the medic femme's team.

"So, let me see if I have her team right. There is one flyer who is purple, the brown and orange car mech known as Remcy, the Autobot medic called Ratchet, the femme Arcee, and the femme medic bot; correct?" Megatron asked.

Starscream nodded and said, "Yes, it seems as if each patrol group has one flyer, except for the one from midnight to four."

Megatron nodded and smiled before saying, "This is perfect. There is not much in the way of fighters on her team so that will make our job simple. Now we need to figure out a plan. I assume that we could put it into action tomorrow. The sooner we have this femme the better it will be for us."

Shockwave nodded and said, "A wise strategy my lord. And here is what I suggest…"

The Decepticons then formulated their plans. Once they were done, they all grinned at each other, knowing that this plan could not fail.

* * *

**Pandimala: I wasn't even in this at all!**

**Chaom: Yeah, neither was I!**

**Authoress: You just have to go along with the story. **

**Pandimala: I don't like it.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here is the second chapter of this sequel. I tried to get more Decepticons in here and I gave a little background as to why Starscream was online after the final battle. Also, four of the Guardians are on their way to Cybertron! Can't wait to get the story development on that side! *evil laugh* Anyway, next chapter should have the kidnap scene (no promises) and I am so excited. Well, until next chapter, please read and review. But no flames.**


	3. Kidnapped

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Hey, has anyone seen my swords?**

**Authoress: Why?**

**Pandimala: It is because I was going to do some practice with them and now I can't find them.**

**Chaom: Don't worry dear. We'll find them.**

* * *

Ch. 3: Kidnapped

Tana felt like she was floating on air. All of her systems were relaxed and nothing was changing that. That was, until, she heard a beeping sound and realized that her internal alarm was going off. Groaning to herself, she onlined her optics and turned off the alarm before wondering why she had set it in the first place.

"You ready to go home Tana?" Blackbit asked as he sat up from their berth.

That was when it clicked in her processor. She had set her alarm so she could have a nice view of Cybertron when they arrived. Tana smiled and nodded before saying, "I can't wait. Once we get our cloaks on we are going straight to Slapjacks. We can stop by HQ later."

Blackbit laughed at her non refusal tone and gave her a mock salute before saying, "Yes ma'am. Now, let's head to the bridge so we can get our first glance of our home."

Tana nodded in excitement before jumping off of the berth and practically sprinting out the door. She wasn't waiting, and by the sound of pedesteps behind her, she didn't have to. When she arrived at the door to the bridge, the door opened for her so she slowed down before walking in. Inside, she saw that hinge and Chem were already in there with all of the Autobots. Hinge noticed their entrance and waived them over. Once Tana and Blackbit were in the group, Tana asked, "How much longer do we have until we land?"

"Ultra Magnus said we should be landing in a few clicks. When we land, Ultra Magnus has said we can go straight to Slapjacks."

Tana did a fist pump into the air before saying, "Yes! Almost home."

Ultra Magnus then walked over to them and said, "If you bots look out the front window you can see Cybertron now."

Tana wasted no time and went in front of said window before staring in amazement at Cybertron. It looked like it hadn't changed a bit. Nothing seemed out of place and it seemed as if the entire planet was lit. As they arrived on planet level though, Tana could see that the planet looked more populated since the last time she was here. It seemed as if the streets themselves were made up of Cybertronians.

"If you would all take your seats while we land." Knockout asked as he piloted the ship onto the docking platform assigned their ship.

Tana nodded and sat down before strapping herself in. Everyone stared at her in confusion when she strapped herself in. She sighed and shook her helm before saying, "The last time I was in a ship that was landing, we crashed so I have been taking extra precautions."

Everyone then looked like they understood so they all went back to what they were doing as Knockout landed the ship. Tana briefly panicked when the ship lurched as it landed and was locked in but soon calmed herself down, with some help from Blackbit, and, once she felt like the ship was stable, she took off her restraints before standing and gathering with the other Guardians. Hinge then handed out the cloaks before they each put them on. They then walked off of the ship and were about to head to Slapjack's when Ultra Magnus walked up to them and said, "Remember, we need you four back at Fortress Maximus in about five cycles. So, until then, go and relax."

Hinge nodded and said, "Thank you Ultra Magnus. We will be there."

Ultra Magnus then left and the four of them started to walk down the streets. "It's a lot more crowded than it used to be." Chem commented.

Hinge nodded and said, "Yes, and it seems as if everybot is in a rush. No one seems to just be taking it easy. It seems as if no one is out here just to go out on a walk."

Conversation between the Guardians then stopped and the rest of their trip was made in silence. Tana was almost wishing that she was back on Earth because of how peaceful and quiet Earth was compared to Cybertron, and more specifically Iacon. Bots were rude and were shoving and pushing to get to wherever they needed to go.

Tana was pulled out of her thoughts when Blackbit said, "We're here."

Tana glanced in front of her and stared in disbelief. The bar looked like it had gotten a major upgrade since the last time she was here. Instead of the small quaint bar that she had known, it was now a two story diner and bar and, according to the sign, had a dance area in a basement. "When did the upgrade happen?" Tana asked.

"About a stellar cycle after you left. He told us that he did it in honor of you and the twins. Mainly you but still some for the twins. He even has a special midgrade mix that he invented to remember you by." Hinge answered.

"He really took my absence hard. What's it called? The drink I mean." Tana asked.

Blackbit smiled and said, "Well, it is called the Tana Sunrise."

Tana smiled at that and stared at the door before saying, "What are we waiting for? Let's go in and say high to Slap."

The others nodded so they went into the joint. When they got inside, Tana was surprised on the number of bots in the place. There were so many that Tana gave up trying to count them. She glanced around and smiled as she heard Slapjack giving the chef in the back room some heck before he came out and saw that the four of them had come in. He motioned to one of his waitresses, who Tana recognized as Lavana, and she made her way to their table. They all knew that they had to talk differently so she wouldn't recognize them so they rerouted their speech programming a little before Lavana walked up to the table.

"Hello bots and welcome to Slapjack's. What can I get you tonight?" She asked them.

"I'll take a midgrade with a few sprinklings of iron flakes on top." Chem stated.

"I'll take a plain midgrade." Hinge stated.

"I think I will take a midgrade with some platinum flakes." Blackbit stated. Tana would have raised an optic ridge at him for such a strange order. She would have to tease him about it later. He had teased her the first time they came to Slapjacks and had gotten the exact same order because he said it wasn't strong enough and the platinum lowered the intensity of a drink.

"And I think I will go with your Tana Sunrise." Tana answered.

Lavana nodded and wrote down the order before saying, "I'll be back with your drinks in a few clicks. For now though, just relax."

The four of them nodded and waited for Lavana to return with their drinks. Once she did, Tana was surprised that the Tana Sunrise was so simple. It was constructed out of normal midgrade but it was mixed with oil and melted energon sweets. Also, it had a small silver garnish on the top that was in the shape of her morning star. Tana smiled at that before she raised the drink to her lips and took a small gulp. She was surprised by how sweet it tasted and yet it also had a little kick at the end. Made Tana think of herself and since it did that, the drink was definitely a good one to represent her.

**So, how do you like the Tana Sunrise?** Blackbit asked over their bond.

Tana smiled at him and said, **It's really good. Slapjack did a great job.**

Tana then saw that Hinge had stood up so she copied him, along with Chem and Blackbit, and the four of them made their way over to the bar. When they sat at the stools, Slapjack walked up to them and asked, "Something else I could do for you lot?"

Tana was about to reveal who they were when the sound of a scuffle brought all four of the Guardians' attentions to a circle of bots crowded around two sets of others. They then heard Slapjack mumble to himself before he walked out from behind the bar and made his way over to the standoff. The four Guardians walked over as well and were surprised about who they saw. One side was made up of four mechs; one that was colored two tones of red, another that was black and silver, the third was a dark green mech with royal purple markings, and the fourth was black with white lines, that they didn't know but the other side was a nice surprise. The other side was made up of Radar, Pinefrost, Suncrest, and Neuro.

"Take that back right now and this won't go any further." Radar stated with a strained voice.

Tana was now curious about what Radar was so upset about. She had remembered him as a mech who didn't get into fights without a good reason.

The mech who was colored two different shades of red said, "No. The Guardians were wimps and it is a good thing that they are gone."

Suncrest and Pinefrost had to hold Radar back as he tried to lunge at the mech while saying, "They were not wimps! They were some of the strongest bots that I know and the respect and honor on Cybertron has faded to almost nothing since their departure so it is not a good thing that they are gone!"

Slapjack finally got inside the circle and said, "Ok mechs, let's take this to the sparring field. I don't need my bar destroyed."

The black and silver mech on the other side came up and shoved Slapjack before saying, "Like we care about you bar old bot. We are settling this here and now."

It seemed as if all of the Guardians were thinking with one mind as they fought their way to the center of the circle before Hinge stated, "Stop right now."

The two toned red mech let out a laugh before saying, "Or what? And why are you all wearing those cloaks? Are you afraid that your ugly mugs will chase away all of the femmes?"

Tana almost let out a laugh at the mech's last line. Too bad he didn't know she was a femme. Well, at least not yet. She felt Blackbit's anger before he snarled and said, "You mechs had better learn how to give respect or we are going to have to teach you."

The dark green and royal purple mech laughed at that and said, "Oh and what are you going to do against bots like us four? Spread your germs on us?"

The four bots and most of the crowd that had gathered burst out into laughter at the challenge. Chem then took the question and said, "This is your final warning. We can't guarantee what will happen to you."

The two tone mech smirked at that and said, "Yeah right! You bots probably couldn't do a thing against us. Let me show you just how pathetic you are."

Tana let out a low growl as the mech suddenly threw a punch at Blackbit. She would have laughed at the situation if it wasn't for the automatic anger she felt at her bondmate being attacked. She smirked though, when Blackbit caught the fist with ease before shoving the red mech away.

"You are what is passing for strong bots these solar cycles? This is bad comedy." Blackbit stated.

Three of the four mechs growled and the black and silver one said, "Just who do you think you bots are that you can come in here and degrade us bots?"

Hinge then said, "Well, you tell us your names and then we will tell you ours."

Tana noticed that the black and white mech looked like he really didn't want to be here so she quickly opened a link with Blackbit and said, **Hey, have you noticed the black and white mech?**

**You mean that he looks like he doesn't want to be doing any of this? Yeah, I noticed and I told Hinge and Chem. They have both said to go easy on him if we do end out fighting.** Blackbit responded.

Tana would have said more except the two tone red mech said, "We don't have names you scrap head. We haven't started our academy training."

Tana let out a small laugh and said, "And yet you think that us challenging you was a bad idea?"

Red mech then glared at them before saying, "Yes, because you still won't be able to defeat us. Now, who are you four bots?"

The four Guardians nodded in unison before simultaneously taking off the cowls on their cloaks. Hinge then stared at red mech and said, "We are four of the six Guardians and we would now ask you to leave here."

The bar had turned so quiet that the lightest movement was as loud as a scream. Blackbit loved the looks of shock on the four mechs' faceplates. They had just been talking trash about them and now they weren't sure what to do. The three main troublemakers wasted no time in leaving after that and the other one followed slowly behind them.

Once they were gone, the four Guardians turned and Blackbit smiled when he saw the looks of surprise on their friends' faceplates, especially Slapjack, who was looking at Tana specifically.

Tana smiled and waved before saying, "Hey bots."

Slapjack stared at her in shock and said, "Tana, I thought you went offline! That is what the council told us. At first I didn't want to believe it but then you all never came back and Hinge, Blackbit, and Chem always looked so sad when they came by for a drink."

Tana kept her smile and embraced him in a reassuring hug before saying, "I'm not offline and I am doing well."

Slapjack then stepped back and gave her a light tap on the help before saying, "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

Tana laughed and said, "I promise that I will try not to Slap."

Slapjack gave a small smile and said, "Good enough for now."

Radar then came up and said, "Where were you bots at? And what is with the strange symbol you are sporting?"

And from there, they all then reconnected and told their different stories. Once their time was up, the four Guardians went to the parade and impatiently stood through the introduction ceremony. Once they were done, they were about to go to Guardian HQ when Ultra Magnus came up to them and said, "Pandimala is calling in from Earth, most likely to do a checkup. You had better hurry and talk to."

The four Guardians nodded and followed Ultra Magnus to the communication network before finding the monitor with Pandimala on it. Tana smiled at Pandimala and said, "So far so good 'Mala." Tana then noticed a look of sadness in Pandimala's optics and asked, "What's wrong Pandimala?"

The others in the room, the other Guardians and Ultra Magnus, stared at the screen and must have noticed that Tana was right in saying that something was wrong.

Pandimala sighed a sigh that made it sound like the weight of the world was on her shoulders before she said, "Something has happened here."

Everybot in the room flinched as they heard the sound of something shattering in the background and other bots yelling.

* * *

Balm was out with her patrol group for their shift and she was not feeling very well. Physically she was fine but mentally was another story. She had realized the previous solar cycle, when Storm and Remcy had tried to talk to her about her experience and she had pushed them away that she was pulling away from her friends. She felt ashamed that she had been captured but she had felt even more ashamed that she had panicked. She had shown the 'Cons that she was the weakest weak and she was probably the one that would talk first.

The sound of sirens brought her out of her thoughts and she activated her own before following the police cars. As they were traveling, Balm heard a ping from her comm. link and saw that Ratchet was trying to contact her so she let it through. "Yeah Ratch?"

"Get to Sumdac tower on the double, the 'Cons are," Ratchet started when the frequency was scrambled.

Balm put the pedal to the metal and zoomed to Sumdac tower. Once she arrived, she shivered when she saw Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, and Lugnut attacking. She noticed that she was the last one there so she slammed on her brakes and transformed before going up to Ratchet, who was waiting to help any bot who needed it, and asked, "How is it going over there?"

Ratchet sighed and said, "Whirlwind is trying to keep the 'Cons at bay by firing from the air and Arcee and Remcy are making sure that they don't leave the perimeter."

"What can I do?" She asked. She really wanted to get away from the 'Cons but she wanted to help at the same time.

"I need you to drive outside the jamming area and get a call for help out to the others none of us can leave and the Autobots are at your base right now because Pandimala wanted to give them all the ground tour." Ratchet requested.

Balm was only too glad to accept his request and said, "I'm on it." She then transformed and sped away from the scene. As she was driving, and trying to get a signal out, Balm started to think about why the Decepticons were attacking. They normally didn't perform an outright attack unless most of their enemy was in the same place and could all easily be accounted for. They also didn't know that the Autobots were at the Dragon Scouter base so they had risked their group getting extra backup quickly. What were they hoping to accomplish from attacking like this?

Another thing that worried her was that they had not pursued her when she left to get help. They wouldn't normally let a bot go off and contact assistance. From what she studied, she had learned that they would never let their targets call in backup if they could help it. And from what she saw back there, they could have definitely stopped her.

When she brought herself out of her thoughts, she saw that she had driven into the woods. She also realized that she had stopped trying to get a signal out. So, she transformed and tried again, only to frown when the signal was still blocked. The Decepticons had definitely prepared for a bot trying to call in for help.

She was about to transform again when she heard a noise behind her and turned. Her spark froze in fear when she saw that Shockwave and the femme helicopter 'Con were standing there. "What do you want?" Balm demanded.

Balm grew nervous when the femme simply answered, "You."

Balm then went into full panic mode and started to back up. **Storm**, she started to say when she stopped herself and put a block on their bond. Stormfire wouldn't be able to get there in time and he would just feel pain. Plus, she could out run these two 'Cons no problem. "You will have to take me unconscious."

Shockwave then stepped forward, causing Balm to step back, before he said, "You silly medic, who ever said that it was us two that were going to take you?"

Balm wondered what they meant for a click before she felt something prick the back of her neck before she felt all of her motor systems freeze. She tried to move them but found that she couldn't. She then realized that somebot had injected her with a paralyzing substance not unlike what Elita's nails now did. She then watched as Lockdown and the jet mech came out from behind her. She had forgotten about the two mechs and now she was helpless. To make matters worse, she couldn't concentrate enough to reopen her bond with Storm to call in assistance.

"Shockwave, contact Megatron and tell him that the mission was a success. Pandemonium, you and I will be carrying our guest to the ship." The helicopter femme said to Shockwave and the black jet mech.

Both mechs nodded before Shockwave contacted Megatron and Balm felt sharp digits gently grab onto her right arm as Pandemonium got a hold of her. She then felt the second set of servos grab her left arm before they launched into the air and Balm soon found herself flying over the land and heading farther away from Detroit. She felt, at that moment, like she was doomed.

* * *

Remcy knew that something was off as soon as the Decepticons had fled. They had the advantage in numbers since Ratchet had stayed clear to make sure that he could help one of them when possible and Ratchet had sent Balm to go and call for backup. So why were they now leaving?

Remcy didn't have much time to think about it when Ratchet came up and asked, "Are any of you seriously injured?"

Arcee then walked up to them and said, "No. It was like the 'Cons weren't trying to hurt us. They almost seemed to be delaying us."

Remcy nodded but said, "But for what? They must have been trying for something important if they were holding back as much as I think they were."

Whirlwind then flew above them before transforming and landing next to Remcy. She then glanced around before saying, "Hey, I got a call through to base and they will have a teleport in a few clicks." She then glanced around before asking, "Where's Balm? Shouldn't she have gotten back already?"

Ratchet nodded and said, "I was wondering that too. She isn't the type of bot who will normally not come back to make sure I knew she called for backup."

Remcy was about to add something when his comm. link went off. He then answered it to hear Pandimala say, "Ok bots, hold servos. Teleport in five."

The group of bots then held servos and a nano-click later, Remcy was in the Dragon Scouter base. He then glanced around and asked, "Hey 'Mala, has Balm already returned to base?"

Remcy's worry only grew when Pandimala put a worried look on her faceplate before saying, "No, we thought she was coming back with you all."

"Did you get a call for assistance then?" Ratchet asked, the worry he was feeling creeping into his question.

Chaom shook his helm and said, "No, we haven't gotten any calls until Whirlwind's a little bit ago. What's going on?"

"We sent Balm to try and contact the base because we were attacked by Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, and Lugnut and they had scrambled the signals in the area. She hasn't been seen or heard from since." Whirlwind stated.

Pandimala grew a brief look of panic on her faceplates before she returned to her normal calm self before turning to Tune and Scale before saying, "I want you two to go and track Balm's last movements. They should be traceable, even with the block having been up."

Tune and Scale nodded before going into the teleport system and heading off. Remcy then glanced around and asked, "Hey, where is Stormfire at anyways?"

Chaom sighed and said, "He is just finishing up the tour. When you bots called and said you needed a teleport, we felt it best if I was here to greet you."

Remcy nodded and was about to say something when the teleport activated, most likely by remote access, before Tune and Scale reappeared. They then ran up to Pandimala and Scale said, "Get Stormfire in here now."

Pandimala immediately did as they requested and it took less than thirty nano-clicks for Stormfire to run into the room, the other Autobots trailing behind. "What's wrong?" Stormfire asked.

Scale let out a sigh before saying, "We followed Balm's signature trail until it came to a stop in a clearing. We then detected four Decepticon signatures and we found that they had taken Balm."

Everybot in the room stayed frozen in shock at that. After a few clicks, Pandimala walked over to the communication area and Remcy followed. Once the two arrived, Remcy asked, "What are you doing 'Mala?"

"I'm contacting Cybertron and our team there and telling them of this development so they can keep their optics open for them there." Pandimala answered before she punched in a few codes.

Remcy watched as the screen turned fuzzy before the face of Ultra Magnus filled the screen. "What is the nature of this call Pandimala?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"I need you to get the four Guardians and come back here with them." Pandimala answered vaguely.

Ultra Magnus nodded though and, a few clicks later, he came back with the four Guardians. "So far so good 'Mala." Tana greeted.

Remcy realized that Tana thought that this was just a check in call. He then listened as Pandimala said, "Something has happened here."

Remcy then flinched as the sound of something shattering filled the air along with bots yelling. He then heard Stormfire yell in rage and the other yelling increase.

"What's happening there Pandimala?" Chem asked.

Remcy heard Pandimala sigh before she said, "That was Stormfire. And he is upset because Balm has been captured by the Decepticons."

* * *

**Stormfire: WHERE IS SHE AUTHORESS?**

**Authoress: Well, she is obiviously with the Decepticons right now.**

**Stormfire: *glares* I know that but WHERE ARE THEY!?**

**Authoress: Does it look like I know?**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here is the next chapter. Sorry for taking so long but my life has been very hectic. I hope you all liked. Please read and review. But please no flames.**


	4. The Beginning of Something New

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: What is going on with these short chapters Authoress?**

**Authoress: *sighs* I'm building up to something just be patient with me.**

**Optimus: Patience is a virtue, but it does not hold out forever.**

**Authoress: Gosh, even the goody two shoes Autobot is against me.**

* * *

Ch. 4: The Beginning of Something New

Balm had watched as they had flown her to a huge warship. When they had arrived, they had immediately taken her to a holding cell and placed her inside. They had then left. Now, Balm was sitting in a corner of the cell and panicking. It had been a good four to five cycles already and they had yet to come and interrogate her. Was this some sort of ploy that they were using? Were they trying to get her to relax so she would be more willing to talk?

Balm jumped as the door to the holding area opened and the helicopter femme walked in. Balm then tried to back up further when the door opened and the femme walked in before shutting the door again. It was then that Balm noticed that the femme had two cubes of energon in her servo. The femme then sat down and held one of them out to Balm. Balm was about to take it when she realized that it could have something in it to make her talk easier so she promptly shook her helm and continued to stare at the femme.

"You can have the energon. We haven't done anything to it." The helicopter femme stated.

Balm stared at her for a click before saying, "How do you expect me to trust you. You're a 'Con."

The femme let out a sigh before taking a sip from the energon and making sure to let Balm see her swallow it before she said, "See, nothing in it. You need to refuel. Please take the energon."

It was not only because the femme had tried the energon first, but because she had actually said please, that Balm took the energon from her and started to sip it.

"There, isn't that better?" The femme asked.

Balm hesitantly nodded and said, "Thank you."

The femme and her then sat in silence and continued to drink. While she was drinking, Balm studied the femme and couldn't help but think that she looked familiar somehow. But, no matter how far back Balm went, she couldn't figure out how the femme in front of her could possibly be familiar.

Balm jumped when the femme reached her servo toward Balm. She stared at the servo suspiciously until she realized that the femme was just silently asking to have Balm's empty cube back. Slowly, Balm handed the cube to the femme and quickly retreated when the femme took the cube.

"What is your designation?" The helicopter femme asked.

Balm stared at the femme before shaking her helm and saying, "Not telling you."

The helicopter femme sighed and rubbed her helm with her servos before saying, "I won't force you to say anything that you do not want to, but I believe that these talks will go by easier if I knew your designation."

Balm still stared at the femme and said, "I don't even know your designation and you expect me to say mine?"

The femme seemed to take her approach seriously and stood up, which caused Balm to scoot back more, before she said, "I am Malice. My bondmate is the black jet mech who helped me carry you here. His name is Pandemonium."

That statement caused Balm to stare in shock. She had never thought that Decepticons had the capability to love. She thought that they were cold war machines, bent on destroying all in their path.

"I see that you still wish to remain anonymous." Balm glanced up at Malice as she said that. "I will respect your wishes. Have a nice recharge." Malice finished as she opened the door to the cell and shut it.

Balm felt that, since the femme had shared so much about herself, she could at least tell Malice her designation. So, as the femme approached the main door, she said loud enough so the femme could hear, "Balm; my name is Balm." Balm watched as the femme paused before walking out of the door.

* * *

Malice had been shocked when the femme had said her name. She had heard of the femme but couldn't remember where from but she still had to contact Megatron immediately with the information. She opened a comm. link with Megatron and said, "Lord Megatron, I have retrieved from our guest what her name is."

"Good work Malice. And what is this name?" Megatron congratulated and then asked.

"She informed me that her name is Balm. That name sounds familiar but I can't seem to place it at this present time." Malice informed.

There was a pause on the line before Megatron said, "I see. Well, if you figure out how you know her, inform me as soon as possible."

"Yes Lord Megatron." Malice stated.

She then heard a sigh from the other side before Megatron stated, "Malice, you are an old friend of mine. You can leave out the title and just call me Megatron." He then cut the line.

Malice stayed in the spot she was in for a few clicks before she shrugged her shoulders and made her way to her room. When she arrived, she punched in the code and walked in before she laid on her berth next to Pandemonium and said, "Pandemonium, there is something strange about that femme, Balm."

She felt Pandemonium wrap his arms around her before he asked, "What's so strange about her dear?"

Malice sighed before she said, "She seemed to be studying me like she was trying to remember me from somewhere. The only problem with that is that I have never seen her before in my existence, well, at least before the fight at the concert." She had noticed the strange studying that Balm had been giving her while she had been drinking her energon and it had caused her to worry. Why was their guest studying her in the first place? Most bots, when captured by the Decepticons, would stay as far away and would not take any energon for at least a good three or for solar cycles. But, this femme had deliberately taken the energon when assured that it was tampered with and she had started to talk to her within a few clicks.

"I don't know dear, but for now, we must get some recharge. You need your rest." Pandemonium stated.

Malice scooted closer to him before saying, "Yes darling. Have a nice recharge."

The two of them soon fell into recharge.

* * *

Back at the Autobot warehouse, everyone who was there was relaxing from the stressed few days. Bumblebee and Blurr were playing a video game on the T.V. with Sari watching, Bulkhead was painting in his room, Jazz and Prowl were meditating in Prowl's room, Ratchet was tidying up his med bay, and Sentinel was at the rest station so everyone could relax from him not being around.

Optimus and Elita were sitting on the edge of the roof looking at the city. They hadn't had much time to talk and they had figured that this would be the best time. But they had yet to say a word to each other since they had been up there, which had been a good half an hour.

"Optimus," Elita started, "I don't know how to express how sorry I am."

Optimus turned to Elita with a confused expression and asked, "What do you have to be sorry for?"

Elita sighed before she stated, "For not trusting you when you said you would help me. I shut you out and I didn't give you a second chance, after you were willing to give me one." She then turned away from him. It was one of the worst times in her creation that she could remember and she had been so blind with fury and hate that she hadn't opened up the chance that somebot still cared about her, no matter what she looked like.

She was surprised when Optimus gently turned her helm so she was facing him before he said, "Elita, you have nothing to be sorry for. We left you on that planet and I should have tried harder to convince you both that we shouldn't have even gone to the planet. I wasn't strong enough to help you. You had every right not to trust either me or Sentinel when you found us again. I'm the one that should be and is sorry. Sorry for not going back."

Elita smiled and hugged him lightly before saying, "I guess we both made mistakes. At least you accepted me and I trusted Balm enough to help me." Thinking about Balm made them think about the situation she was in. Elita put her helm against Optimus' chestplate and said, "I hope she is alright." Elita felt like she should be doing more to help Balm. Balm was the one that had allowed her to return to normal and now she was in the servos of the Decepticons. Elita knew firsthand how deadly some of the Decepticons could be. None of the ones that were in the higher chain of command, but she knew nothing about this new helicopter femme and jet mech. She had no idea what they would be able to do.

Optimus put a comforting servo around Elita's shoulders and said, "She will be fine. You remember from boot camp. She always kept herself safe. Balm may be shy, but she has a strong spark. She won't let them break her down."

Elita smiled softly at that and said, "I hope your right."

The two of them then returned to the silence that they were sitting in before. This time around, though, it was a peaceful silence only filled with understanding, and maybe something more.

* * *

**Pandimala: Ok, this is getting interesting. Now you need to update this soon so we can find out.**

**Chaom: Yes, put everything else aside. You can do nothing until this is done.**

**Authoress: Sorry to burst your bubble my OCs, but I do have other stories that I must update.**

**Chaom and Pandimala: AWWW!**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here is the next chapter. Sorry for no Pandimala meeting her creators yet. But as I was writing, I thought it best to wait until later to put that in. Most likely a lot later. I plan for next chapter to have some more bonding time between Malice and Balm. Also, we will be going back to Cybertron to see the Guardians and the recruits at boot camp they will be watching. Plus, some familiar faces will be appearing from Guradians, The Beginning so if you haven't read the whole thing,get at it because most of the characters will be making a comeback in this story. And the Guardians won't be too happy to see some. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	5. Information at a Price

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: And we are back to continue this tale.**

**Pandimala: Ok, and we now get to see what has been going through your mind all this time.**

**Authoress: Yep, and it certainly is interesting.**

* * *

Ch. 5: Information at a Price

Balm was stiff when she woke up from recharge. She wondered why she didn't feel Stormfire next to her and she became saddened when she remembered she was a prisoner of the 'Cons. She glanced at her internal clock and saw that it was five thirty in the morning. Glancing next to her, Balm found it really spark-breaking not to have Storm next to her, giving her a nice smile that promised a nice day. She then got off the brig berth before walking around her cell.

She then allowed her thoughts to go back to when she had went on her first 'date' with Storm, who she knew as Matt at the time, and smiled to herself. They had both been nervous and had decided to just go on a walk through the woods. They had then found a cliff and lay down on the bit of ground near the edge and stared up at the stars. A shooting star had then, by chance, flown across the night sky and Stormfire had said, "Oh look: a shooting star! I wish that you and I will be together always Alice."

Balm had smiled at that and had said, "Me too Matt, me too." The two of them had then scooted a little closer to each other and continued to stare at the stars. They had stayed there for an hour before Matt had taken her back to her ride, which happened to be Foresight.

Balm jumped when the brig door opened and she heard pedesteps walking toward her. She calmed down a little when she saw that it was Malice and she had two cubes of energon in her servos. She knew that the femme was a nice bot, because of how Malice had treated her the previous day, and she was surprisingly not as scared of the femme as she used to be, though she still held some fear of her.

"Good morning Balm. I brought you your energon. I didn't know how you liked it so I just got plain midgrade for you. I hope it is ok." Malice stated as she opened the door and came in before she shut it and sat on the ground again.

Balm joined her and took the cube of energon Malice offered her. She was about to raise it to her lips when she realized that the femme could have put something in it, even though she hadn't the previous day. She lowered it slightly and stared at the femme before asking, "You didn't put anything in here; have you? Because I will know right away if you did."

Malice shook her helm and said, "No Balm. I didn't put anything in there at all and I scanned it myself before I walked in here to make sure that none of the other 'Cons had tampered with it and they hadn't."

Balm glanced down at the energon again. The femme could be lying but Balm knew that she needed her energon because if the others found her, she needed to be ready for an escape. And that meant that she should be fully fueled. So, she brought it back to her lips and took a small gulp before placing the cube next to her.

"How are you doing?" Malice asked.

Balm stared at her for a minute before saying, "How do you think? You all captured me and I'm away from my…family." Frag, she had almost said that she had a bondmate. She couldn't let them use that against her.

"I know you probably won't believe me, but I wish that we didn't have to capture you. But I also wish that the war was over and I could go and find my creations." Malice stated in response.

Balm was again shocked that, not only did the femme have a bondmate, but she had creations as well. "You have creations?" Balm asked.

Malice nodded and smiled before saying, "Yes, both are triple changers. My first was a femme and she disappeared before we left Cybertron. Our little mech disappeared not too long ago and we have been trying to locate him. I fear he did something rash and I am worried." She then asked, "What were your creators like?"

Balm sighed and realized that she could give out this information. "My sire, whose name was Dif, was taken offline after I was sparked but before it was time for me to be put in my frame. He was a medic during the war and he was killed while he was attending bots in an infirmary. The place was bombed and the only reason my carrier, whose name was Cryal, stayed online was because my sire made her promise, that if he ever went offline, that she would stay online long enough to raise me into an adult."

Balm stopped for a click before saying, "Carrier would always tell me how, if there had been enough medics around, my sire wouldn't have gone offline because they actually found him online after the building went down. But, they couldn't get a medic there in time to help him. She had kept her promise to him and raised me well. A few stellar cycles after I started training under Ratchet, though, she couldn't take it any longer and she ended her life."

Malice raised a servo out to her and placed it on her knee joint before saying, "I'm so sorry dear."

Balm only flinched a little when the femme did that. She was just trying to comfort her. So, she nodded and said, "It's ok, I understand what she went through."

Malice seemed to knit her optic ridges together like she was thinking for a click before her optics widened and she said, "You have a bondmate, don't you?"

Balm automatically jumped up and backed away from the femme before letting out a low growl.

* * *

Malice could have hit herself for doing that. She was just getting Balm to open up more and she had to ask if she had a bondmate. But, she couldn't stop it when it came out of her mouth. The revelation had been so sudden that she was shocked. Balm seemed like the type of bot who wouldn't have a bondmate until she was a little older, especially with her shyness.

"Calm down Balm. You know that I won't go hunting the bot. I have a bondmate of my own so I know how the pain of them getting hurt feels." Malice stated, trying to get back in Balm's good graces.

But, by the look on Balm's faceplate, she was not in the mood to forgive and forget. "Please leave. Now." Balm demanded while pointing to the door.

Malice knew that Balm was reacting purely on bonded instinct and might come around later so, instead of pushing it, she nodded and said, "Have a nice recharge later, Balm." She then walked out of the cell.

She then made her way down the hallway until she arrived at the throne room. She walked inside and saw that Megatron and Blitzwing were the only two in there. They both turned to her and Megatron said, "Ah, Malice, what have you found out today about our guest?"

"First, I found out that her creators' designations are Dif and Cryal." Malice stated.

"I met Cryal, before zhe war. She vas a level headed femme. But, she alvays did become very attached to zhe zhings she cared about. I alvays vondered vhat happened to her." Blitzwing stated.

"Well, then I will hate to tell you that she has joined the Well. According to Balm, Dif made Cryal promise not to offline herself until their creation was an adult before he offlined. Balm said that she offlined a few stellar cycles after she started her training as a medic under Ratchet." Malice stated.

"Anyway, with what you found out?" Megatron asked, wanting her to continue her report.

"Anyway, we talked about her creators for most of the time, but at the end, she said that she understood what her carrier went through. I then realized that Balm has a bondmate. I asked her about it and she became extremely defensive and she even growled at me. I then asked her to calm down and I told her that I was not going to go hunting the bot. But, she stayed on the defensive and demanded that I leave. I wanted to stay in her good books, or at least get back in them, so I left and told her that I hoped she had a nice recharge later. That's all." Malice answered.

"She has a bondmate? We will have to be extra careful with her then. We don't want to hurt whoever it is. Plus, if we do hurt her and her bondmate can feel it, they will be able to track us. And they will be angry when they find us." Megatron stated. He then looked at her and asked, "Do you have any idea who her bondmate could be? We need to try and avoid hurting him in battle as much as possible. I don't want Balm being hurt. She has been very cooperative."

Malice shook her helm and said, "Sorry, but I don't have an inkling as to who it could be. She hasn't given away anything that could be taken as the identity of her bondmate. I will have to keep working on it."

Megatron nodded and said, "Remember to also try and get some information about her group of Autobots. We need to know what kind of bots they are and how they are run. We also need to know who is in charge of them all. Are they led by a Prime or someone of lower rank? We need you to get this information as well."

Malice nodded and said, "I will start on that right away Megatron." She then turned and walked out of the room. As soon as she arrived in front of the doors, Pandemonium stepped out. "Where are you going dear?" Malice asked.

Pandemonium smirked and said, "Starscream said he wanted to spar with me in the training room. You want to come watch?"

Malice nodded and said, "Sure dear. I could use a distraction." The two of them then walked toward the training room.

* * *

Tana hated waking up early in the morning. But, she knew that they were going to go watch some trainees at their first day of boot camp today. If they liked something they saw, they would return the next day to watch some more and maybe get some information on them.

She walked to the energon dispenser and grabbed two cubes of midgrade before turning to her newly awakened bondmate. "Here's your morning energon dear. Let's get down to the meeting room and meet up with the others so we can go to the boot camp to observe." Tana stated.

Blackbit gratefully took the energon and stood up before the two of them walked to the meeting room. Once they arrived, they saw that they were the last ones to arrive so they quickly sat down before Hinge said, "Since Tana and Blackbit have finally decided to join us, I just want to say that we are just there to observe and correct any mistakes. If the instructor asks us to help teach then you can assist, but only when the bot says we can. Got it?"

The other Guardians then nodded before Tana said, "Well, now that we got that settled, let's get down there. I want to see these fresh bots."

The four mechs laughed before they all walked out of the building. They had previously decided not to wear their cloaks because everyone had already seen them and the cloaks were not going to help much until the talk of them being here quieted down, significantly. Weaving through the crowd, they finally arrived at the training grounds. When they got to the starting field, which Tana remembered from her first day of training, Tana saw a blue and brown truck mech who looked around her age standing in the middle of the field, waiting.

"Hello, are you the instructor for the new group of Autobot trainees?" Hinge asked when they arrived next to the mech.

The mech nodded and said, "Yep, the name's Kappo. And you must all be the four Guardians that I was told was coming down to watch the new recruits."

Chem nodded and said, "Yes, I am Chem and these bots are Hinge, Blackbit, and Tana."

Kappo nodded and said, "Nice to meet you all. I could actually use some help with these bots. The feel that I got from them was one that I don't want to handle alone. Most of them act like they are better than everyone else."

As soon as he said that, Tana opened a link to Blackbit and said, **Great, more Sentinel's. That's just what we need.**

**Give them a chance sweetspark. It might turn out better in the end. Maybe.** Blackbit responded.

Hinge nodded and said, "We would like to help in any way that you see fit. We are only here to help and observe."

Kappo nodded at that and said, "Ok then. I will need loads of help. This is my first team and I don't know what I am totally supposed to be doing."

Tana smiled and said, "We will help however we can."

Just then, the assembly horn went off. A few clicks later, Tana smiled when she heard the thundering of running pedes to the training field. So many memories were flooding back to her processor now that she almost missed the bots running in. She was almost floored by who she saw. The two toned red car mech, royal purple and dark green car mech, black and silver car mech, and the black and white motorcycle mech from last night made up most of the troop as well as a black and pink motorcycle femme.

"Welcome to your first day of training bots. These first few days will tell me if you will survive the next round of training or if I should just cut you after these days are done. These bots next to me are four of the Guardians and Ultra Magnus has stated that they are to watch you all train and see if they can put in their input in your fighting." Kappo stated.

He then walked up to the two tone mech and asked, "What can you do?"

That confused Tana until the mech's servos suddenly burst into flames and he fired a fireball at the practice targets. Kappo nodded before saying, "I see, I think you will be known as Flarespot."

He then walked up to the black and silver mech and asked, "What about you?"

The mech smirked before he placed his servo on the ground and Tana watched as a medium sized area around the servo turned to a shiny color. She had seen the effect on what that was when she was on Earth. That would be a very useful ability to have. Kappo was curious about the effect and walked on it before he slipped and almost fell before he regained his balance. He then nodded and said, "You froze the area. Impressive. I think you will be now known as Nightfreeze."

He then walked up to the dark green and royal purple mech before saying, "And you?"

The mech smirked before he lifted his arm and his servo changed to a gun before it fired a metallic seed at a practice dummy. The dummy was soon melted by acid. Kappo stared for a second before nodding and saying, "You will be known as Toxic Root."

He then walked up to the motorcycle mech, the one that had not looked like he wanted to fight the previous night, before saying, "And what about you?"

The mech shuffled his pedes nervously for a nano-click before he took out a dagger and took a couple of steps forward.

"Come on runt, we don't have all solar cycle." The newly named Flarespot antagonized.

Tana sent a small glare at him for a nano-click before returning her attention to the motorcycle mech. He seemed to get a more determined look on his faceplates before he suddenly smirked. Tana furrowed her optic ridges in confusion until a gasp filled the air and everybot turned to Flarespot and were shocked to see an almost clone of the motorcycle mech standing behind Flarespot with a dagger to his neck cables. The clone, unlike him though, was mainly white with black lines instead of black with white lines.

Kappo smiled and said, "Ok, at ease mech."

The motorcycle mech nodded before the clone suddenly vanished. As soon as it was gone, Flarespot massaged his neck cables where the blade had been located. Tana was now very curious about the motorcycle mech.

She returned her full attention to the lineup as Kappo then said, "Being able to make a clone of yourself; a rare ability. I think that you will be called Alphego."

Alphego nodded at the name before facing forward at attention again. Kappo finally arrived at the only femme in the group and said, "Ok. Show us what you can do."

The femme smirked before charging forward at the practice dummies and jumping into the air. A blaster was then formed on her right servo before she shot one of the drones. While she was coming out of the air though, she pointed the tips of her pedes downward and Tana saw that they had turned sharp. Tana watched in amazement when, as soon as the femmes pedes touched the neck area on the drone, she spun and her pedes sliced the helm off of the drone. The femme then turned and pulled out wrist blades before spinning and slicing up the drones.

The femme was then finished after that and she seemed to enjoy the shocked looks on Flarespot's, Toxic Root's, and Nightfreeze's faceplates. Alphego seemed to know the femme because, as soon as she returned, he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled and nodded before returning to attention.

"That was quite impressive. I think that your designation will be Shrike." Kappo stated. He took a step back and said, "Ok bots, give me fifty transform ups and make them snappy."

As they were doing that, Kappo walked up to them and said, "So, what do you think?"

Tana smirked and said, "Well, we met Flarespot, Nightfreeze, and Toxic Root real well last night and they didn't make a good impression so you might have to watch them. Shrike seems like she will be able to go far, but we need to see her against something that will fight back. Alphego was also there last night as well but we haven't come up with a good read off of him yet. But I can speak for myself when I say that the little display he just gave was brilliant."

Hinge nodded and said, "Tana is right, we will be returning tomorrow at the same time to help out with the training. Are you doing anything else this solar cycle with them?"

Kappo shook his helm and said, "Nope, I think I will make them think that this will be easy and then lay down the real work tomorrow. They won't know what hit them."

Chem nodded and said, "Very well."

Kappo tilted his helm to them in respect before walking back to the bots and saying, "Ok you bots, that's all we are going to do today. Be here same time tomorrow and then the fun really begins."

The trainees seemed shocked by this statement but none of them argued and they broke rank and meandered around a little. Blackbit turned to her and said, "You ready to head back?"

Tana glanced around and noticed that Shrike and Alphego seemed to be staring at her so she shook her helm and said, "You three go on ahead. I think I'll hang around here for some more information before I turn in. I contact you when I am almost there."

Blackbit stared at her for a nano-click before nodding and saying, "I guess that's ok. Just stay out of trouble. I hate worrying for you."

Tana smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about me dear. I'm a grown femme and I can take care of myself." She then gave him a small peck on the lips and smiled as he drove off with the other two.

* * *

Hearing two sets of pedesteps behind her, she turned and watched as Shrike and Alphego walked up to her. When they finally got in front of her, they hesitated for a click before Shrike stated, "Are you really Tana? The Guardian who was supposed to be offline?"

Tana smiled and nodded before saying, "That's me. That's a story for another solar cycle though."

"What are you Guardians going to be evaluating us on? If you can tell us?" Alphego asked nervously.

Tana shook her helm and said, "We aren't here to evaluate you. We are simply here to assist the instructor and to correct anything that we see is wrong, as long as Kappo says we can."

Alphego seemed to shuffle his pedes before saying, "Ms. Tana,"

"Please just call me Tana. And yes?" Tana interrupted and asked.

Alphego seemed to get more nervous and he stated, "Well, Shrike and I were wondering…well we wanted to know…"

Shrike decided to step in and help Alphego so she said, "We were wondering if you could maybe help us train some extra after training. Unlike the others in our troop, who were helped trained for this since they were younglings, we never had any help with formal training and we would be honored if you would help us."

Tana was honored that they had asked her to help them. But, she knew that the other Guardians would want in on this so she said, "As long as you don't mind the other Guardians helping out as well because I don't think that I could get Blackbit to not help if I tried."

She was glad when she saw excitement light up in their optics before Shrike stated, "Thank you so much Tana. We really appreciate it."

Alphego nodded and said, "Yeah, we appreciate it a lot."

Tana nodded but said, "You're welcome. But, you two should head to your bunks and get some recharge. I know from my time in boot camp that the second day is much worse than the first and you are going to need your recharge."

They both nodded and said thank you one more time before running off to the barracks. Tana smiled and turned to make her way back to Guardian HQ. Training those two would be fun and she knew that Blackbit, Hinge, and Chem would love to help her give those two extra training. She chuckled to herself when she remembered the scene when Alphego had showed his ability to them all. That was a very useful ability. As she thought about it, she also realized that, with some practice, that skill could be extremely deadly in battle. A bot could fight two bots at once if he knew how to split his attention.

* * *

The sound of a small clink behind her caused her to casually glance in a reflective surface in front of her. Behind her, she could see a gray and red car mech behind her. He seemed to be staring at her and had yet to notice that she had caught on to him. As she continued her walk forward, she noticed that the mech was weaving through few bots on the sidewalk with them to make it look like he was not following her. She didn't like the looks of what the situation could lead to so, even though she was barely half way back to HQ, she opened her bond link and said, **Blackbit, I might be getting into a sticky situation soon.**

**What's happening Tana?** Blackbit asked with worry immediately.

**It might be nothing but there is a strange mech that seems to be following me. I'm not sure if it will escalate or not, but I think I would feel better if you were on your way here to escort me back to HQ.**Tana responded.

She felt more of Blackbit's worry travel through the bond before he said, **Keep our link open and stop occasionally to see if the mech keeps acting suspicious. If he does, try getting out of sight when he is not looking. Chem, Hinge, and I are on our way. Just relax.**

**Ok Blackbit. Just get here soon.** Tana stated before concentrating on her walking. She stopped a few more times and she now knew that she wasn't 'nothing' when the mech kept finding a place to hide when she did.

Taking Blackbit's advice, she suddenly screeched to a stop, causing the mech following her to jump into hiding, and took that time to hop into an ally and hide behind some junk in the ally.

Tana decided to get on the comm. link and said, "Hey Black, the mech kept following me hid,"

Tana was then cut off when she felt a large pair of servos grip her shoulders and drag her deeper into the ally. She sent a wave of extreme panic to Blackbit before allowed her pedes to slide underneath her frame and she kicked the bot holding her in the knee joints. The bot behind her yelped in a mech voice before leaning over and rubbing his knee joints. Tana got out of servo's reach and took our her morning star before backing up slowly, staring at the large red and orange mech that had tried to grab her.

A small sound from behind her caused her to send another wave of panic to Blackbit as she turned and saw the car mech that had been stalking her. She then turned so she was facing both mechs before the red and orange mech turned to the other mech and said, "This is one feisty femme Firefog. The others will love her."

The other mech, who she assumed was Firefog, smirked and said, "Yeah Burnsport, but something in her behavior seems familiar." He then sighed before saying, "Let's get her back to the others so they can decide what to do with her."

Tana growled loudly, which caused both mechs to return their attention to her, before she said, "I am not going anywhere with you mechs."

Firefog let out a dark chuckle before saying, "But whoever said we were going to give you a choice?" The two mechs then came at her.

Tana then allowed the electricity to envelop her morning star before she blocked the attacks of the two mechs before she got in a few hits of her own and stepped back to give herself some space. Tana felt like she would be able to handle these mechs until Blackbit and the others arrived. They didn't seem to be too grand at fighting, though they were ok.

Tana must have missed something they said during their conversation because, while Firefog stayed where he was standing, talking to someone over a comm. link, Burnsport lunged at her again. She swung her weapon and grinned when she felt it land with an audible crunch on his arm.

Burnsport growled and took a few steps back before saying, "That's going to cost you later femme."

Tana growled and went to attack him but two more sets of servos gripping her arms and pulling her back stopped her. She struggled in their grip, almost getting out a few times, before looking at the bots behind her and she saw a blue and yellow mech as well as a blue and green mech.

"What was so hard about restraining her Firefog?" The blue and yellow mech asked.

Firefog huffed and said, "You two got the advantage of her Thunderwave."

Tana assumed that the blue and yellow mech was Thunderwave. While they were seemingly waiting for something, Tana used her bond and said, **Blackbit, how close are you to my coordinates?**

**About seven clicks. What's happened? **Blackbit asked with a lot of worry.

**Another mech grabbed me from behind and the gray and red mech joined him. Now there are two more mechs here beside them and they have me restrained. I'm worried because they seem to be waiting for something. **Tana reported. She then heard pedesteps coming from deeper in the ally so she said, **H****ang on Black, somebot is coming.**

Blackbit's side of the bond went silent after she said that. Tana waited in anticipation and shuddered with a little fear when she saw a black and gray mech walk out of the shadows with his servos behind his back. It wasn't that he was scary to look at, because that was not the case, it was because of the amused grin that appeared on his faceplate when his optics locked with hers.

"Well, this certainly is a surprise." The new mech stated.

"Why is that?" The blue and green mech asked.

The new mech's grin grew a little and he answered, without his optics leaving hers, "Why, Windbreaker, this is a very famous and important femme. She is the only femme in the Guardians. This is the legendary Tana who was supposed to be offline." His grin still managed to grow larger and creepier when he finished saying that.

The growls that came from the other four mechs led Tana to draw two conclusions: One was that these mechs were against femmes in high ranking fighting stances. The other, and more probable solution, was that these mechs weren't the biggest fans of the Guardians and they hated them.

Tana winced when the grip on her arms increased and they kicked the back of her knee joints, forcing her to kneel in front of the black and gray mech. Tana flinched in disgust when the creepy mech placed a digit underneath her chin. He seemed to be staring into her spark though her optics.

She was surprised when he pulled away and stood up. Tana had been sure that he would have done something to her after he put his digit under her chin. But, her surprise immediately turned to panic when she heard a whooshing sound and the mech turned so Tana could now see that he was holding a welding torch.

The mech then knelt in front of her again, keeping the torch away, and said, "I would so much rather use a laser scalpel for this, a welding torch was the only thing that I could get my servos on. Too bad though. I remember the last time I had a Guardian in this situation. The laser scalpel worked so well. Chem was so much fun to torture. It was a true shame when those two Guardians came and took him away while making me lose my standing."

Tana growled and said, "You creep." The mech frowned a little at that and brought the torch into view.

Firefog tapped his pede impatiently and stated, "Would you hurry up and get it done. We don't know how far the other Guardians were behind her."

The creepy mech sighed but turned to her and said, "Oh well. Looks like I don't get to have any fun. Straight down to business I guess."

Tana immediately tried to scoot back when the creepy mech brought the torch closer to her faceplates but the mechs behind her were doing too good of a job keeping her restrained. Tana's spark beat increased as the mech slowly brought the torch ever closer to her right optic. **Blackbit get here now! **Tana screeched in fear and panic over there bond. She needed him.

**Tana! **She heard Blackbit yell in fear.

She refocused her attention to the mech in front of her when she felt the heat from the torch bounce off of her faceplate and optics. It was almost unbearable. Tana watched, optics open as wide in fear as they could and her constantly trying to scoot back from the creepy mech as he inched the welder closer to her faceplate.

* * *

**All OCs: *shocked in fearful silence***

**Authoress: Whoa. *waits in fearful anticipation***

* * *

**AN: Ha! I'm leaving you all on a cliffhanger! While you are all wondering what is going to happen, I'm going to be trying to working on the next chapter, along with the other chapters of my other stories. I'll try to update soon but no promises. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	6. Feelings Long Kept

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: I guess it is time for the next chapter.**

**Stormfire: I want Balm back. Now.**

* * *

Ch. 6: Feelings Long Kept

Stormfire was very upset while he flew over the city of Detroit. At the moment, he was thinking about Balm. It had been so unreal when he had first been told that she had been kidnapped that he had thought they had been joking. But, after everyone had just stared at him with pity filled optics, he had gone into a full rage and had started swinging. It took Ratchet and Joint giving him a sedative to finally make him calm down.

Now, he was worried about Balm. He had heard of the atrocious acts that some 'Cons had done to their prisoners and he was afraid that Balm was suffering from those same tortures. She had blocked off their bond from her side, probably so he wouldn't feel her pain. But, since she was doing that, he couldn't be sure that she was ok or give her any sort of comfort from the pain that she could be feeling, whether it be emotional or physical, or both. She had always been the one to avoid a fight and yet she was the one that they had targeted and only Primus knew why they actually wanted her. They could be planning the most nefarious things.

As he pulled off a barrel roll, his thoughts travelled to the fact that he had not been there to help. He should have sensed that something was wrong when Balm had semi contacted him that night. But, he had just thought it was her trying to decide whether to open up to him or not. Now that he thought about it, he had been blind not to respond to her inquiry, or at the very least, find out just what was going on with her at that moment.

He growled as that thought entered his processor and he put his thrusters on full before he flew in circles. He knew that he was pushing his engines to capacity but, at the moment, he could really care less. He just wanted to get all of the frustration that he was feeling out of his chassis, no matter the cost.

"Stormfire come in." He heard Pandimala request on his comm. link.

Stormfire knew he had to answer so he calmed down and said, "Yeah 'Mala?"

He heard 'Mala sigh before saying, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Stormfire asked. Why did she want to know that?

"I had to tell Captain Fanzone that the insane jet that is circling Detroit is just you and that he didn't have to worry about you being a Decepticon. Now what is going through that processor of yours?" Pandimala stated.

Stormfire finally broke down and said, "I miss her 'Mala. I miss her so much. Why did the 'Cons have to take Balm?"

"Storm, she is a strong femme. She will be alright. I know that you miss her but I promise you that we will get her back. And they probably took her because she was the easiest of us to take and they knew that. Now, I need you to meet me at the Autobot rest station. I am supposed to be meeting Sentinel and Optimus to discuss the new arrangements for the patrol groups since Tana, Blackbit, Chem, and Hinge aren't going to be here for a while." Pandimala stated.

"Ok 'Mala. I'm on my way." Stormfire responded before banking to the right and heading toward the rest station.

* * *

Zarron was extremely bored as he paced in the communication room of the Autobot rest station. He had been trying to figure out how he was supposed to approach Bumblebee to ask him about being a scout. Whenever Zarron found the bot, he would always be with another bot. He considered just kidnapping the blasted mech but he thought better of it when he realized that doing that would make him less likely to train under him.

Zarron sighed before glancing around the room he was in. He had already done a preliminary sweep but he now wanted to get a closer look at the room and its different angles. He might need to know a good place to observe from in the future. He knew that they had an alliance but he didn't trust Sentinel to give him all the information that he would need. Walking next to the main monitor, he glanced up and noticed that there was a small support beam that made a triangle out of the top corner of that side of the room. Jumping up to the beam, Zarron found that if he would observe from this vantage point, he would be unnoticed and he would be able to see everything in the room.

Pedesteps from outside caused Zarron to freeze in his thoughts. This would be the perfect time to see if this new vantage point really worked, especially since he had left the door open. He waited in anticipation for a click before he smirked when he saw Bumblebee stop in front of the door with a can of…something in his servo. Bumblebee peeked inside and seemed relieved that he couldn't find anyone there. Zarron quietly jumped down once Bumblebee had left stealthily followed Bumblebee down the hallway.

He finally had to stop when Bumblebee stopped in front of a specific doorway and chuckled. Once Bumblebee walked inside, Zarron took the risk and peeked inside and had to hold back his laughter when he noticed that the room he was staring in was none other's then Sentinel's. Also, it didn't help that Bumblebee was currently painting the berth hot pink.

He watched until Bumblebee was on his final few strokes before deciding to head back to the comm. room. He was pretty sure that Bumblebee would head there next to hide the evidence and he wanted to be there when he did. Once he arrived back at the comm. room, Zarron hid in the shadows and waited patiently for Bumblebee to walk in.

Sure enough, Bumblebee walked in about a couple of clicks later and he glanced around before hiding the paint can in a corner. He then heard Bumblebee sigh to himself and say, "That is going to be so awesome when he gets there. No one will know who did it."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Zarron stated as he stepped out of the shadows.

He smirked when Bumblebee jumped and said, "How did you do that?" He must have then realized that he had to defend himself because he said, "I was just talking about how no one will know that Sari stuffed the pop machine full of chocolate."

Zarron shook his helm and said, "I can do that because I am a scout. The best scout trainer out there in fact. And I'll give you one more chance to tell me what you did."

Bumblebee seemed to hesitate for a click at that. Zarron wasn't really going to tell but he wanted to see if Bumblebee could be honest with him. Also, it helped that Bumblebee did the prank to Sentinel. If it had been another bot, Zarron might have actually reported if Bumblebee lied. But it was Sentinel and Zarron wanted him to suffer as much as possible, even if it meant doing the little things like pranking.

Bumblebee let out a sigh of defeat before saying, "Fine, I painted Sentinel's berth hot pink."

Zarron smiled before saying, "I know."

Bumblebee stared at him with shocked optics before asking, "How? I made sure that no one was around!"

Zarron smiled a little bigger before saying, "Like I said before, I am a scout. I learned to observe without being seen. Also, I learned to follow a bot without them knowing that I was following them. I followed you to Sentinel's room and watched you paint the berth pink."

Bumblebee sulked before saying, "Now I am going to guess that you are going to say it was me when they ask."

Zarron shook his helm and said, "No. What I am going to do is offer to train you as a scout. I have seen potential in you that I have seen in the best scouts that I have trained. What do you say?"

Bumblebee stared at him in shock and said, "You want to train me? Seriously?"

Zarron nodded and said, "It's up to you. If you would like me to train you, I will. If you don't that's also your choice. I am only offering. But, I will warn you that it will entail hard work from your end. The benefits, though, are worth it. Just imagine what sort of pranks you could pull if you knew that you wouldn't be seen."

Bumblebee seemed to think about it for a bit before saying, "Sure. It would definitely be worth it in the end."

* * *

Zarron was about to say more when the doors to the comm. room opened and Pandimala, Stormfire, Optimus, and Sentinel walked in. Zarron could tell right away that Sentinel didn't look happy and he knew that he wanted to get out of the building when Sentinel went to his room, and he would try and bring Bumblebee with him.

The four of them then gathered around Zarron and Bumblebee. Sentinel looked like he was about to say something when the console next to them blinked. Optimus went and typed in a few things before the screen turned on and became a fuzzy picture. Zarron then watched as an orange and red bot with flames came on the screen.

Sentinel then walked up to the screen and said, "Rodimus Prime, this is Sentinel Prime at the Autobot rest station on the planet Earth."

The bot on the other side, who Sentinel had identified as Rodimus, nodded and stated, "Greetings Sentinel Prime. I am calling to ask for permission to land at the Autobot rest station for me and my crew."

Optimus stepped forward and said, "Rodimus, this is Optimus Prime and you are clear to land. Once you land there will be time for introductions."

Rodimus nodded before the line went dead. Pandimala turned to Optimus with a questioning look but didn't ask anything as the six of them walked out of the room and headed down to the landing bay. When they arrived, Pandimala said she needed to go and grab something so she left for a little and Stormfire went to see if she need help while Zarron waited as the ship locked into place The door then opened and the bot called Rodimus came out.

Rodimus seemed surprised by his presence there but continued to walk up to Sentinel and Optimus before shaking their servos and saying, "Optimus, Sentinel; it is great to finally land and greet bots that I don't see on a regular basis. Now, introductions. I am Rodimus Prime, leader of Team Athenia. I'll introduce my team when they decide to come down."

Zarron watched the opening to the ship for about a click before the first bot walked out. The mech was yellow and blue and had a large smile on his faceplates. The mech ran up to them and shook Optimus' and Sentinel's servos before saying, "The name's Hot Shot, hottest thing on wheels."

Zarron smirked at the mech but returned his attention to the opening as another bot started to walk out. He could tell right away that the red and white femme was a medic. She came down the ramp and stood next to Hot Shot before shaking Optimus' and Sentinel's servos and saying, "I'm Red Alert and I am this team's medic. It is nice to meet you."

Zarron kept his optics on the opening as the next bot came out. This green and tan mech was extremely short, shorter than even Bumblebee, but Zarron could tell by the way he held himself and the look on his faceplate that he wasn't somebot to underestimate in a fight. The bot walked up and said, "The name's Brawn." He shook Optimus' and Sentinel's servos before going to stand by Hot Shot.

But, Bumblebee had to open his mouth and say, "Hey, you're a short bot."

Zarron faceplate palmed himself when Bumblebee said that. Bumblebee should know better than to say that to bots. Zarron smirked when Brawn frowned before he marched up to 'Bee and picked him up before throwing him across the room.

"I may be short but not many bots can stand up to me kid." Brawn said to Bumblebee before walking back and standing next to Hot Shot. Bumblebee walked back over and stood next to him while rubbing his helm.

"Frag, that hurt." Bumblebee stated when he got next to Zarron.

Zarron shook his helm and said, "You should watch what you say to bots. Some won't be as forgiving."

Bumblebee stared at him and disbelief and stated, "That's was forgiving?" Before closing his optics and rubbing his helm some more.

Zarron was going to answer when he heard pedesteps coming from the ship and he watched as an orange mech walked down and seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts. That was, until, he got down next to Rodimus and Rodimus stated, "And this is the final member of my team, Ironhide."

Zarron jumped when Bumblebee's helm snapped up at the name and he said, "Ironhide?"

Ironhide glanced at Bumblebee and his optics widened in shock before saying, "Bumblebee?"

Zarron then watched as Bumblebee's optics suddenly grew a concerned look and he wondered what was going through the yellow bot's processor. When he glanced at Ironhide, he saw a look that told him of regret and nervousness but he didn't want to pry, yet.

Ironhide seemed to seem out of his thoughts first and shook Optimus' and Sentinel's servos before saying, "It's nice to meet you both."

Zarron then realized that he hadn't been introduced so he stepped forward and tapped Optimus' shoulder lightly. Optimus stared at him for a click before realizing that Zarron needed introduced so Optimus said, "This mech here is Zarron and he is a scout for the Dragon Scouters."

Zarron shook each bot's servo in turn until he came to Rodimus'. When he shook Rodimus' servo, Zarron stated, "It is a pleasure to meet you Rodimus. Our leader and another mech will be here soon for introductions but they had to go and check the status of the search for one of our bots."

At his words, the door opened and stayed open as Pandimala walked in. Pandimala walked in and said, "Sorry I wasn't here when you bots landed. The designation's Pandimala and it is nice to meet you all. Zarron sent me a clip with your names so we won't have to go through introductions again."

Rodimus stepped forward and Zarron could see that he was staring at shock at Pandimala. "Pandimala, I thought you went offline."

Pandimala stared at Rodimus in confusion and seemed to study him for a click before her optics widened in realization before she said, "Hot Rod, it's been awhile. How've you been?"

Rodimus smiled and said, "Like the file says, the name's Rodimus now and I've been doing ok."

Zarron realized that Pandimala must have trained with him a little while she was still on Cybertron so he decided to lay the matter to rest. Rodimus then turned to Sentinel and asked, "What is the status with the 'Cons on this planet?"

Sentinel scoffed and said, "They are in hiding somewhere and they have captured one of their," Sentinel pointed to Pandimala and Zarron before continuing, "bots. That's about it."

Rodimus looked at Pandimala with a worried look and said, "Are there any search parties looking for the bot?"

She was about to answer when Sentinel let out a scoff and said, "We shouldn't be wasting resources looking for that useless medic in the first place. She was careless enough to, not only once, but twice get captured by the 'Cons and we have more important things we could be doing with our resources, like trying to help the Autobots in the outer reaches of space fight off the 'Cons out there."

Zarron saw a glint of white next to the door and knew that he had to lower the damage so he glanced next to Sentinel and saw that Rodimus was the only one standing close enough to the frag head to get hurt so he was about to sprint and help the bot when Pandimala, who must have seen Stormfire as well, sprinted forward and grabbed Rodimus before throwing them both away from Sentinel.

"What the frag do you think," Brawn stated, about to come up and give Pandimala a piece of his processor when a white blur suddenly rammed into Sentinel and sent him flying back before growling and walking up to the stunned mech.

Ironhide then went to help Sentinel when Zarron put a servo in front of Ironhide and said, "That would be detrimental to your wellbeing."

While Stormfire was beating the crap out of Sentinel, Rodimus and Pandimala stood up and walked over to the other bots before Brawn asked, "Why did that bot attack Sentinel? And why shouldn't we help him?"

Pandimala let out a sigh before saying, "Well, that medic that Sentinel was stupid enough to talk about like he did just so happens to be Stormfire's, the white jet mech's, bondmate."

The new Autobots nodded in understanding and watched as Sentinel got beat by Storm. After about five minutes, Stormfire picked Sentinel up and shoved him against the wall before saying, "You ever insult my mate again and the punishment will be much worse." Storm then set Sentinel down before growling and walking toward the door before saying, "I'm going for a flight."

Everybot stared at the door for a few clicks before Sentinel grumbled and said, "I'm going to my room to get some recharge. Anybot bother me and they will regret it."

Sentinel then made his way slowly out of the room. Zarron shook his helm before his optics widened and he grabbed Bumblebee's servo before saying, "We are going to the Cavern to start on training." He then called in the request and Remcy, who was on duty, said it would be there right away.

Pandimala gave him a puzzled look and all he said was, "It was all Bumblebee's fault."

As he disappeared, Zarron heard a yell of anger come from Sentinel and he smirked as they finally disappeared.

* * *

After watching Pandemonium and Starscream train with each other, Malice decided to go and see if Balm had calmed down. Malice had been starting to grow strong parental feelings for Balm and she didn't want to see the young femme injured. She especially didn't like to see her upset. It made her spark ache when the young femme had gotten angry at her.

Arriving at the doors to the brig, Malice punched in the combination before walking in and approaching Balm's cell. When she arrived though, she smiled when she saw Balm curled up in a small ball, deeply in recharge. It reminded her of when Pandimala used to climb into their berth when she was scared and curl up before falling into recharge.

After staring at Balm for another click, Malice decided that she should head to the control room to make sure that she would be on servo if Megatron need her. So, she walked out of the brig and turned to the right. She got about five steps when she collided with a bot and she went to the ground. Glancing in front of her, she stared when she saw that Megatron had been the one that ran into her. She stood up quickly and made her way over to him before offering him a servo and saying, "I am so sorry for bumping into Megatron. I wasn't watching where I was going."

He smiled as she helped him up before saying, "It's aright Malice. Actually, I was coming to look for you. I just received a call from Team Chaar that they are coming to join us on this planet to fight."

Malice nodded and stated, "I've heard of Team Chaar but I only know information about their leader, Strika."

Megatron nodded and said, "Strika is a loyal femme and she keeps her team in line. Would you join me coming up to greet them?"

Malice nodded and said, "Of course Megatron."

He nodded and the two of them made their way up to the top outside of the ship and Malice was impressed of the size of the ship coming down. She figured that there would be at least one large sized bot on the ship because of its size.

Once it touched down, the docking bay opened and a large femme that Malice recognizes as Strika walks out and bows to Megatron before saying, "Lord Megatron, it is an honor to be in your presence."

Megatron nodded and motioned for Strika to rise before saying, "It is nice to have you here Strika. I believe that we should introduce you and your team to Malice here."

Strika nodded and held out her servo before saying, "It is an honor to meet you in the metal Malice. I have heard many tales about both yours and your bondmate's loyalty to Megatron. I am Strika."

Malice shook Strika's servo and said, "The honor is mine Strika for I too have heard of your loyalty to Megatron as well as your determination against the odds."

Strika nodded and said, "Now, let me introduce you to my team."

They all then turned to the entrance as heavy footsteps could be heard. Malice then watched as a gigantic helicopter mech walked down. "That is Blackout. You might have heard about him. He took out a few of the Supremes that the Autobots created during the war."

Malice nodded and said, "I have and he is more massive then I pictured."

Next, a motorcycle mech with a tank surrounding his helm came out and followed Blackout down the gangplank. "That is Oilslick and he is very smart in the ways of chemicals. He created many different concoctions like Cosmic Rust." Strika introduced.

Malice nodded and said, "A very smart mech indeed."

After Oilslick came down, a purple jet mech walked down the gangplank. "That's Cyclonas. He is a very skilled fighter with blades and is very loyal to the Decepticon cause." Strika then introduced.

Malice nodded and studied the mech for a click. He seemed like a bot she would like to get to know. The sound of pedesteps drew Malice's attention to the opening and she almost frowned in disgust when she saw a strange mech who looked like he could turn into a being not unlike the organic creature known as a toad walk out of the craft.

"And that is our final member, Spittor. He is a disgusting mech but he gets the job done. Have to watch him sometimes though." Strika introduced.

"Why have you all come to Earth?" Malice questioned.

"Because, we were being chased by a team of Autobots and we decided that coming here to support Megatron was the best option." Strika answered. She then turned to Megatron and asked, "How is the war effort on this end?"

Megatron let out a small smirk and said, "I have a feeling that the war is going to be coming to a close very soon."

Strika raised an optic ridge at that statement and asked, "Pardon me for questioning you Megatron, but how can you be so confident that the end of the war is soon?"

Megatron nodded and said, "I see your reasoning for questioning me Strika and it is alright. I am so confident because we are currently holding a prisoner from a strange sect of Autobots that might be able to help us end the war."

Strika nodded but asked, "I see, but can we see the prisoner?"

Malice immediately became worried when Strika asked that. It wasn't that she couldn't trust Strika, because she had proven her loyalty to Megatron countless times, but because she didn't know the rest of her team and how they might react to Balm and the nice way that they had been interrogating her. Malice knew that some 'Cons preferred to torture their prisoners until they got access to the information.

But, Megatron seemed to not think about that because he said, "Of course Strika. But please keep your bots quiet. Our prisoner might be in recharge now and we do not want to wake them."

Strika and her team nodded before Megatron led them into the ship, with Malice at his side. She flinched at the noise the new bots were making and was slightly afraid that they would wake up Balm. They soon arrived at the brig and Megatron typed in the password before the door opened and they all walked inside. When they stopped in front of Balm's cell, Malice was relieved to see that Balm was still in recharge and had not been awoken by their entrance.

Once Strika studied Balm, she nodded and said, "At least she is a medic and will be the most cooperative bot you could have taken."

Megatron nodded and said, "That is what we thought. Now, let me take you all to your quarters."

Strika nodded and they all went to leave. Malice was just starting to think that she wouldn't have to worry about Strika's team around Balm when she caught a glance at Spittor. He was staring at Balm with a look in his optics that worried Malice. He seemed to stare at the medic femme with an unnerving look that promised pain. She made a promise to herself to watch that mech more closely to make sure that he wouldn't harm her.

* * *

Tana felt helpless as the welder grew ever closer to her faceplate. So many thoughts were trying to process through her processor at the moment that she could not seem to pick up on any of them as the heat increased. For a nano click, she thought that maybe the creepy bot in front of her was just trying to scare her.

A scream so horrifying and terrible ripped out from Tana when the flame started to cut through her faceplate that she didn't know who she was. All she knew was the pain that was currently traveling through her systems with the flame. It burned like nothing the pits could ever create and she knew that this mech was nowhere near stopping.

More screams of pain erupted from her vocalizer as the flame made to move up her faceplate. But, just as the heat was rising, Tana heard a blaster shot and shivered at the cold that was left behind on her faceplate from the air hitting her newly acquired scar.

Tana looked to the opening of the ally and sent a wave of relief to Blackbit when she saw him, Chem, and Hinge standing there with glares on their faceplates and blasters drawn and primed to fire on the bots currently holding her captive.

"Release her Pitch." Chem growled while stepping forward.

The creepy mech, who she assumed was Pitch, laughed at him and said, "And why would I do that Chem? I am having so much fun with her. Couldn't you hear her screams of agony?"

Blackbit growled at Pitch and snarled, "Let her go now Pitch and get out of here while you still can."

Tana felt the anger coming from Blackbit and she knew that he was going to attack these bots soon whether it was smart or not. She had to figure out a way out of Windbreaker's and Thunderwave's grips. It was then that she noticed that their grips had loosened and she was pretty confident that she could get out.

"And what are you going to do about it Blackbit? I have her and if you try anything, she won't have time to scream." Pitch taunted her mate more.

Tana had enough of listening to this mech so she decided to make her move. Lunging forward, she ripped her arms out of her captors' grips and took out her flail before enveloping it in electricity and slamming Pitch with it. He let out a grunt of pain and was thrown off of his pedes. She then turned to the others and saw that Blackbit was taking care of Thunderwave and Firefog, Chem had Windbreaker, and Hinge had Burnsport. Tana realized that she would get the pleasure of taking on Pitch so she turned to where she had last seen him and took out her morning star before waiting for the mech to show himself. Tana felt her spark race when she couldn't find him at first. She had a slight bought of panic before she heard some pedesteps to her right and quickly raised her morning star to deflect Pitch's blade.

"Hmm, it seems as if you might actually be a challenge." Pitch commented before the two of them began their fight.

Tana felt as if her body was moving instinctually for her as she fought Pitch. She would dodge at the perfect moments before raising her morning star to take a strike at the mech, only for him to deflect that and make another lunge at her, which she would block. Every time he would try and activate a blaster, she would deflect it with her morning star. She felt like she was locked in an endless combat with the mech in front of her.

After a stalemate that forced the two of them back though, Pitch frowned before saying, "Retreat for now."

And with that statement the other mechs that were fighting them retreated from their fights and retreated behind Pitch. Tana shivered when Pitch looked optics with her and sent her a glare before he disappeared into the shadows.

Tana stared at the spot where he had been standing for another click before turning back to the other Guardians and smiling before saying, "What took you mechs so long?"

Blackbit ran up to her and embraced her in a protective hug before saying, "I was so scared for you Tana. My spark felt it would shatter when I felt your fear. I felt so helpless. When I saw Pitch standing over you and using that welder, I about lost it and only held back to make sure that he wouldn't do anything else to you."

Tana leaned into the hug more and asked, "Who were they Blackbit? And why do they hate you all?"

Hinge walked up to them then and said, "Those were all mechs that each of us met before we became Guardians. Windbreaker was the first. He was a rude bot and treated femmes like possessions but made the mistake of doing that while Blackbit was nearby. Now, this was before he became a Guardian. In fact, it happened right when I started going out and recruiting and I watched all of the interactions. Thunderwave and Firefog were together with the twins. It was during the war and they were being cruel dictators to the bots that were under their command which included torturing bots for misbehaving. This was how we found the twins and they joined the Guardians."

"And what about Burnsport and Pitch?" Tana questioned.

Chem came forward then and answered, "Burnsport was a member of my troop right before the war started and Pitch was our commanding officer. I was the smallest of the mechs there. When I first arrived, the other bots didn't like that I could beat them even though I was smaller. So, they started to cut my energon ration to almost nothing and made me take on extra work loads. I tried to get to the inspectors to report their abuse but they would always detain me. One time I got out and Pitch gave me the lovely markings around my optic. Blackbit and Hinge then came by one day looking for recruits and Pitch offered Burnsport to them."

Blackbit then took over and said, "Well, we didn't like Burnsport's attitude on the practice field earlier but we didn't want to insult the bot so we said we would pick someone out of his group to fight Burnsport. Pitch agreed and tried to suggest someone but we stopped him from trying and we picked Chem. Chem then came back with us and told us his story. The next day they fought. As you can infer, Chem won. Burnsport was not the happiest camper about the loss and took a sneak shot at Chem, who deflected it and knocked the mech into stasis. Pitch then tried to make Chem go back to the barracks but he was surprised when we said that Chem had told us everything about the torture and that Chem was now a Guardian. When we got back to Iacon with Chem, we told the Elite Guard about Pitch and Burnsport but they had already escaped. They have been on the run ever since then."

Tana stared at the mechs for a click before saying, "So, they hate all Guardians? Great, now I have to worry about them. Fun."

Blackbit smiled but asked, "Sorry dear. Are you feeling alright? Do you need a medic?"

Tana shook her helm and said, "It was just surface damage dear. We can fix it when we get back to HQ. For now though, I just want to get some recharge. Oh, and Alphego and Shrike have asked us if we could help them train after their normal training every day and I said that wouldn't be a problem as long as the other Guardians were allowed to help. They seemed really excited about that and said that they didn't mind."

Blackbit smiled and wrapped his arm around Tana's shoulders before saying, "Ok, but let's get you back so you can rest."

Tana smiled and leaned against him before the two of them followed Hinge and Chem out of the ally. Even though she had just gone through a terrifying experience, she felt peaceful being with her family. Nothing was going to change that. It was then that Tana heard a small sound of something slicing through the air behind her.

* * *

Hinge was glad that they had gotten to Tana before the five mechs could do any serious damage to her. But, he was now worried about what they would do the next time that they had one of them alone. He didn't like having to worry about his safety in Iacon like this. He didn't like having to look over his shoulder to see if there was a mech about to attack him.

Hinge whipped around when he heard Tana gasp in pain. He watched in shock as Tana suddenly leaned forward a little and started to fall to the ground. Blackbit caught her and brought her close before Hinge could see that there was an ominous black dagger sticking out of her back.

"Tana!" Blackbit cried out in shock and pain. He put a servo to her face and forced her to keep looking at him while he said, "Stay with me Tana. Come on just stay with me."

It was that phrase that kicked Hinge out of his shock and he turned to Chem before ordering, "FIND A MEDIC NOW!"

Chem wasted no time in running out into the street, screaming for someone to get a medic. Hinge knew that Ultra Magnus would need to be informed right away so he got onto his comm. before saying, "ULTRA MAGNUS COME IN!"

The response was immediate. "Hinge what's wrong?" Ultra Magnus asked with worry.

"It's Tana. She's been stabbed in the back with a dagger and I am hoping that medics are on their way to our location." Hinge answered in a panic.

"I'm on my way. What happened?" Ultra Magnus demanded, the panic in his voice starting to rise.

"Pitch." Hinge growled. He was now cursing the mech from the day that he had met him. If he had only just…

"We all knew that he would have vengeance. What exactly happened though Hinge?" Ultra Magnus responded.

"I believe that we should wait to discuss this once we get Tana to a med station." Hinge responded.

"Yes, how is she doing?" Ultra Magnus questioned.

Hinge glanced at Tana and was scared when she saw that she was having problems taking intakes and her spark readings were going down drastically. Where was a medic? "She is slipping Ultra Magnus. I'm not sure how much longer she can hold out without a medic."

Just then, Chem came running back into the alley with a white and green medic bot. While the medic bot temporarily stabilized Tana, Chem stated, "That is Splint. He was the medic who helped me back when I was in Pitch's troop. He is a call to medic and he came out when he heard me crying for a medic."

The two bots then turned to Splint as he said, "I need to take her to the actual med center now. I'm going to transform and I need you to lay her front down inside my alt mode."

Blackbit nodded shakily before gently picking up Tana, who no longer had the blade in her back, before he transformed and followed Splint. Chem and Hinge followed his example and they were soon following him to the main med center near Fortress Maximus.

Hinge realized that Ultra Magnus would want to know where they were going so he opened a comm. line and said, "Ultra Magnus don't go far. We found a medic and we are now heading to the main med center there by Fortress Maximus. Meet us there."

"I will head there immediately." Ultra Magnus stated before he cut the communication.

As he drove to the med center, Hinge could only pray to Primus that Tana would live through this. They all needed her alive and it would devastate everyone if she were to pass on. He immediately threw those dark thoughts out of his helm and just concentrated on Tana surviving as they made their way.

* * *

**Authoress: I...I think I need to sit down. This is getting scary.**

**Hinge: Scary for YOU? WE are the ones having to go through this!**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here is another exciting installment of The Path Less Taken. I hoped you all liked this. This chapter took me forever to write but it was so worth it. Well, I'm going to sleep. Please read and review. But no flames.**


	7. The Things That Matter Most

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: And here we go bots. You all ready?**

**Blackbit: I'm as ready as I'll ever be.**

**Stormfire: I want Balm.**

* * *

Ch. 7: The Things That Matter Most

Remcy felt relaxed when he entered the Autobot rest station with Whirlwind. The day had been going very smoothly and he had been able to drive around Detroit for a little. While he was driving, Whirlwind had contacted him and asked if he would like to go to the Autobot rest station with her and maybe find out some information. He couldn't say no and met her in the park.

Passing through the door to the control room, both Remcy and Whirlwind were surprised to see Optimus and Elita talking. The two Autobots noticed their presence though and walked up to them before Optimus asked, "Whirlwind, Remcy; what are you two doing here?"

"We were wondering if we could have access to the Autobot mainframe to gather information about the happenings on Cybertron since we left."

Optimus shrugged before saying, "I don't see a problem with it."

With that permission, Remcy approached the main monitor and activated its access to the Autobot mainframe. Movement on both of his sides told him that the other three were watching as well. Remcy scanned the files he came across before he found one that said something about Sentinel 'Magnus'. Curious, he opened the file and was shocked to see a video clip of Sentinel being paraded down the streets of Iacon, declaring how he was going to be more active in stopping the Decepticon menace.

"That frag helm was actually Magnus for a time? How did that happen?" Whirlwind asked.

"Ultra Magnus was critically injured by the Decepticon known as Shockwave so Sentinel stepped up, as the next in line, and took over while Ultra Magnus recovered." Optimus answered.

Remcy let out a laugh when he clicked a link titled, 'The Formal Wear' and saw Sentinel with a fancy helm covering and an orange cape. "Thank Primus that he didn't stay Magnus for long. Cybertron would be in ruins if he was in charge." Remcy stated.

Elita nodded her helm and said, "From what I learned, he almost tore the council apart and started a war." Elita then seemed to think for a click before saying, "Remcy, Balm told me that you were the one that hacked the council files to find a cure to being half organic. Thank you."

Remcy smiled and said, "No problem. Actually, now that you bring that up, I wonder if I can find those files about why the organics on Cybertron were removed."

Everybot then crowded closer as Remcy flew through the records, looking for anything suspicious. As he looked, he was surprised by how lax the firewalls on many of the files were, especially since most of them were supposed to be 'confidential'. After a few clicks, he was about to give up for the solar cycle when he heard a small ding and watched as a file he was trying to gain access to opened. "This file says that there were organics on Cybertron during the golden age. Now, it doesn't list all of the council members but we know two of them." Remcy stated.

"Who?" Optimus asked with curiosity.

"Dragstrip and Alpha Trion." Remcy answered.

"Really?" Whirlwind asked in shock.

Remcy nodded and said, "Yeah. I think I'm going to give Alpha Trion a call later and ask him about this." He then went to close out when a small file caught his optic that was labeled 'Operation: IOE'. "Hello, what is this?" Remcy stated.

"What is what?" Optimus asked.

"This file here." Remcy answered as he tried to open the file. But when he clicked it, he saw that it had a very advanced password access requirement that he knew he couldn't crack right away. "Frag it to the Pit. I'm going to have to make a copy and take it back to the Cavern to see if I can crack it there." Remcy stated. He then made a quick copy of the file, leaving no trace in the system that he had even been there, before logging out.

"So, you all want to go to the park?" Whirlwind asked.

Optimus nodded and said, "Sure. It has to be better than being in here." The four of them then walked out of the room.

Once they were out of the room, a metallic bat dropped down from the ceiling and attached itself to the main console before it began to download all the information that it could.

* * *

When Balm woke up, she checked her internal clock and was shocked to see that it said it was eight o'clock at night. As she forced her tired mind to wake up, Balm's thoughts went to her blow up at Malice. She didn't know why, but Balm felt really bad for snapping at the femme. Malice had told her about her bondmate, Pandemonium, without the worry that she would do anything but she had growled at Malice when the femme had just stated that she had a bond mate.

Ever since Malice had started coming to see her, Balm had started to feel some sort of a connection with the Decepticon femme. She wasn't sure if it was out of fear or out of true caring but she hated it when she got Malice upset.

Balm jumped when the door to the brig opened. But, she calmed down immediately when she watched Malice cautiously walk in with two cubes of midgrade. Balm immediately relaxed. She then watched as Malice opened the door and walked in. Malice then stared at Balm for a click before saying, "Hey Balm, how are you doing now?"

Balm let out a smile and said, "Feeling terrible for snapping at you but besides that I'm doing fine."

Malice shook her helm and said, "You have no reason to feel terrible for snapping at me. It is personally alright to act that way when you feel that your bondmate could be put in danger."

Balm felt a little better but said, "I know but I over reacted. You told me about your bondmate, even though you didn't know if I would hurt him later, but you just simply said that I had one and I snapped. I've been feeling terrible ever since."

Balm didn't flinch when Malice set the cubes of energon down on the berth before Malice gave Balm a hug and said, "Balm, I'm not sure if you believe me or not, but I don't care that you snapped at me as long as you are happy and safe."

Balm was shocked when Malice said that. Now she felt really bad for snapping. But, she didn't want to make Malice feel like she made her feel better so she said, "Thanks Malice."

Malice smiled at her and grabbed the cubes of energon before sitting down. Balm smiled back at her and joined her before taking her cube of energon. She was about to take a sip when she felt like she should be the one to start the conversation this time so she asked, "So, um, what's new on the ship?"

Malice seemed surprised that she had started the conversation but, as soon as she took a sip, Malice said, "Well, nothing much. Except for the fact that we have gotten a new team of bots to join us here." Balm was worried when Malice said that and Malice must have noticed because she said, "I don't think you will have to worry much. Most of her team seems respectable and they shouldn't give you many problems."

"But?" Balm asked when she heard the hesitation in Malice's answer.

Malice let out a sigh before saying, "There is one mech that I am worried about. His name is Spittor and I didn't like the way that he looked at you when Megatron brought them through here on their tour. He seemed to have a look that promised you pain if he got the chance to be alone with you."

That was not helping out Balm's day at all. Now she had to worry about some crazy mech that would try to torture her for information.

"What am I supposed to do? If he comes to torture me I mean." Balm asked. She had a feeling that the 'Cons didn't want to torture her.

Malice took a small switch out of her sub space and handed it to Balm before saying, "If he tries to torture you, flip this switch and either me or Pandemonium will be in here in no time flat, no matter what we are doing, and stop him. I will not let him hurt you if I can help it Balm."

Balm felt really happy when Malice said this and accepted the switch. She then turned to Malice and asked, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Malice gave her a small smile before saying, "How about your time on Cybertron?"

Balm nodded and then began telling Malice about her past on Cybertron, keeping out the names of the other Scouters.

* * *

Slapjack sighed in relief when the last customer left the bar for the night. It had been a really busy night and he had to get the bar cleaned before the Guardians came over for a visit. He had called Hinge and asked him if they would like to come to the bar with their other close friends and spend some time catching up and Hinge said that they would love to once they were done at the academy with the boot camp troop that they were training.

"Hey boss, do you want me to get anything out for them?" Lavana asked as she dried out the last of the cubes to be used tomorrow.

Slapjack thought about that before he said, "Maybe get some of those platinum flakes out for them to put in their midgrade. And maybe you could get some oil sticks for them to put in their energon for later."

Lavana nodded and said, "You got it Slap." She then ran to the storage room before bringing out the said embellishments.

Once she had them set, she walked back over to Slapjack and said, "Hey Slap, how are you dealing with Tana being back?"

Slapjack smiled and said, "I haven't felt this alive in stellar cycles. I honestly thought that I was seeing a ghost when she suddenly took off her hood the other day. Those hoods were some nice investments for them. I can't believe that we didn't recognize them immediately."

Lavana shook her helm and said, "Slap, we haven't seen them in stellar cycles. None of us recognized them. But it sure was great to see them put those young bots in their place. Felt like the old times."

Slapjack let out a hearty laugh and said, "That was pretty funny. Who knows, maybe with them back on the Cybertron scene, this place might actually start to clean itself up."

"We are all waiting for that day Slap."

Slapjack and Lavana turned to the door when they heard Radar say that as he, Suncrest, Pinefrost, and Neuro walked in.

"Hey bots, what took you so long in getting here?" Lavana asked.

Suncrest gave Radar a playful shove before saying, "Radar here lost his wax so we had to spend twenty clicks looking for the fragging stuff."

Slapjack gave Radar a light tap on the helm before saying, "You should keep your stuff organized Radar. You're just lucky that Tana, Blackbit, Hinge, and Chem are running late or I would be skinning you're plating."

Neuro let out a laugh and said, "Well, either that or Tana would be giving you a guilt trip for being late."

Slapjack was about to retort when his comm. link went off and he saw that it was Hinge. "Hang on bots, Hinge is calling in, hopefully with an excuse for why they are holding up this get together."

The others then went quiet as Slapjack answered the comm. request and said, "Hey Hinge, what's keeping you all?"

He didn't like the sound of the shaky sigh that Hinge let out before he said, "Slap, who all is there?"

"It's me, Lavana, Radar, Suncrest, Pinefrost, and Neuro. What's wrong?" Slapjack answered and then asked with worry in his voice. His tone drew everyone's attention to him and they all grew concerned looks on their faceplates as well.

Slap heard a hiccup in Hinge's voice before he said, "It's Tana. She's…" He then heard Hinge pause again as he tried to regain his intakes.

"She's what Hinge? What's happening?" Slapjack pressed.

He then heard Hinge take a slow intake before saying, "Tana was attacked earlier today. We are at the main med center by Fortress Maximus right now and we don't know if she is going to make it."

Slapjack felt his spark freeze when he heard Hinge say that. He had thought Tana had died all of those stellar cycles ago, to find out yesterday that she was online and doing well, to now hearing that she was attacked and she might not make it. "We will be down right away Hinge. See you soon." He then closed off the line.

"What's going on Slap? What was that about?" Lavana asked while putting a servo on his shoulder.

He stared at them all with sad optics before he said, "That was Hinge. Tana was attacked and is in critical condition at the main med center next to Fortress Maximus. I just told him that we should head down there."

The others had shocked looks on their faceplates and it took a while before they snapped out of their shock and Neuro said, "Let's head down there. The Guardians are going to need some support."

The others nodded so they locked up the bar before transforming and speeding away to the med center. Slapjack was praying to Primus that Tana would survive this.

* * *

The sounds of the med center were background noise to Blackbit as he paced in front of the surgery bay doors. How much longer was it going to take them to treat Tana? He didn't like feeling so helpless while his bondmate was fighting for her life at that very nano-click. He should have been there for her, but he had been too late. She had been injured by that glitch Pitch and he had barely arrived before things got too serious. Then he had been right next to her, right next to her, when she had been pierced with the cursed dagger that was thrown by Pitch.

The doors to the surgery room opening caused Blackbit to jump as Splint walked out. Blackbit walked up to the medic and asked, "What's her status?"

Splint glanced at him for a click with tired optics before saying, "We were able to get her stabilized but we aren't sure if she is going to recover after all the energon that she lost combined with the injuries she earned previously from the fight that you all told us about. We were also able to fix that scar on her faceplate so it won't leave a scar."

"So, are you saying that she might not make it?" Blackbit asked.

Splint looked torn as he nodded and said, "We can't be sure about what is going to happen. It will be a while before we will be certain."

Blackbit glanced longingly at the doors and wanted to be in there right then and there with Tana. He wanted to stay with her until she woke up and he was the first bot that she saw.

Splint must have noticed the glance because he smiled and said, "You can stay in there if you want. As long as not too many bots are in there at once."

Blackbit wasted no time in walking into the room. The sound of the spark monitor made his spark drop in sadness as he stared at Tana's still form. She looked so peaceful and yet he knew that she was probably fighting an extremely difficult battle to stay online. He dragged one of the chairs in the room right next to the berth that Tana was on before saying, "I am so sorry Tana. I should have been there for you. I should have been able to protect you."

He then continued to stare at her as she stayed in stasis. She seemed so peaceful, like she couldn't be hurt at all. He smiled at her and whispered, "Tana, I'm not sure if you can hear me or not, but I just want to say that I love you and you are my other half. I couldn't imagine my life without you a part of it. I know that you are strong dear and that you can always fight through anything. Please come back to me. I love you Tana."

It was his systems telling him to shut down that made him lay his helm on Tana's berth. He would only take a short nap. He would be up in a few clicks. Just a few clicks of recharge and he would…

Blackbit was soon deep in recharge, his helm still resting on Tana's berth and his servo resting on hers.

* * *

**Blackbit: Well, at least she is in recovery and our friends are on their way.**

**Authoress: Does that mean I am forgiven?**

**Blackbit: Not until she wakes up.**

**Authoress: Aw.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here is the next chapter. I hope the development of the relationship between Balm and Malice is blooming nicely. Their friendship will be important later on. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	8. Possibilities

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Hey Balm, how are you feeling?**

**Balm: A little better but I still want Storm.**

**Authoress: I know Balm, but I need you there for a little longer.**

* * *

Ch. 8: Possibilities

Balm was pacing in her cell, worrying. The chat with Malice had been great the night before and that was surprisingly not the problem. The problem was that Malice had yet to come by with her energon and Balm had been ok with that at first. But, that had been in the morning. It was now four o'clock in the afternoon and Balm's warning signs had started to go off. She knew that Malice would have a good reason for being late but Balm wasn't sure that she would be online when the Decepticon femme got back.

When the brig door opened, Balm waited expectantly to see Malice with the two cubes of energon. She was nervous when, instead, two small bots walked in, one black and red and one that was a blue gray. She noticed right away that the black and red one had a helm injury that was trickling energon. Her immediate reaction was to step forward to help but she held herself back. She didn't know who these two bots were and she didn't know if she could trust them.

But, she felt like she could at least ask what happened so she asked, "What happened to you?"

Once the two bots got inside her cell, the blue gray one said, "Well, my brother Frenzy here and I were playing a harmless prank on that new bot, Spittor."

Balm raised an optic ridge at them and asked, "Well, how harmless was harmless?" She asked this because she knew that 'harmless pranks' sometimes were somewhat harmful and they didn't make the victim to happy.

But, the blue gray one said, "All we did was throw a couple of balloons filled with neon pink and bright yellow paint at him."

Ok, so it was really a harmless prank. She nodded and said, "Sorry for interrupting. Please continue."

The blue gray one nodded and said, "Well, we just threw them at him and they happened to hit him in the chestplate. Well, Spittor was fragged at us and we just thought that he would yell. But, he kicked at us and, I got out of the way but, Frenzy got hit and he flew into the edge of the wall and his helm slammed into the edge."

Frenzy then pointed at the blue gray one before adding, "Well, Rumble got me out of there and then he had the idea to come and see you."

"Why didn't you see your medic?" Balm asked. She knew that they had a medic on the ship because Malice had said something about the bot but Balm didn't know what the medic was like.

Rumble took back over and said, "He has been out on patrol with Strika and Malice since early this morning. Megatron wanted a better overview of the area around here. Anyway, can you help fix him? We have the stuff that you could need."

Balm hesitated. She didn't know if she could trust the bots. But, as she thought more about it, she knew that they were probably not feeling to great about trusting her to help them, especially since she was the enemy. So, she pulled in her fear and nodded before saying, "Bring him here Frenzy and I'll see what I can do for him."

Rumble nodded and brought his brother over to her and handed her the materials that he brought. Balm examined the wound and sighed in relief when she saw that the wound was merely surface deep and that it would heal nicely and shouldn't have any complications.

"What's the diagnoses doc?" Frenzy asked.

Balm smiled and said, "You're going to be just fine. Luckily the wound was just surface deep so I just have to clean up the area and weld the metal back together." She then set about doing what she said she would. It was a little difficult to work on the smaller helm of Frenzy but besides that the whole process went problem free. Once she was done, she gave the equipment back to the twins.

"Thanks doc lady." Both Rumble and Frenzy said.

Balm smiled and was about to say that they were welcome when she felt her systems go numb and her vision started to go black before she stumbled and had to use her berth for balance.

"Are you ok doc lady?" she heard Frenzy ask.

It took her a few clicks to get herself stabilized again before she shook her helm and answered weakly, "No one brought me any energon today and my systems are trying to put me in stasis."

Rumble and Frenzy shared a glance with each other before turning back and saying, "We'll be right back."

Balm was a little saddened to see them go but figured that they would be back so she decided to sit on the floor so her helm could rest against the wall. Her systems were practically lecturing her to go into stasis until she got some energon but she fought back. She didn't want to fall into stasis until after the twins came back. From their tone, she could tell that they didn't want her to fall stasis until they were gone.

The sound of the brig door opening caused Balm to online her optics, which she hadn't even noticed had gone off, and gave a weak smile when she saw that they were each carrying a cube of energon, with some difficulty. She then watched as they opened the cell door and walked in before setting the cubes down and Rumble said, "Here ya go doc. Two cubes of energon just for you."

Balm smiled a little bigger before picking up the first one and draining about half of it before setting it down. Her systems came online immediately and she felt very awake and refreshed. She took another sip of the energon before setting it down and sighing in relief before saying, "Thanks you two. I really needed that."

"No problem doc lady." Frenzy said.

"What's your designation doc? The others don't tell us much." Rumble asked.

"The designation's Balm." Balm answered.

"Hey Balm," Frenzy started.

"Yes Frenzy?" Balm asked.

"We have never been to Cybertron and we were wondering if you could tell us some stories from when you were there?" Frenzy asked.

Balm's smile grew wider and she answered, "I would love to." So, she began to tell about her adventures on Cybertron, omitting any names that were not her own.

* * *

Sari wasn't sure what she was more surprised of; the fact that Bumblebee was now taking lessons from Zarron and couldn't pick her up, or the fact that she was going to be hanging out with the Scouters alone for the first time since this alliance thing. When the elevator opened, she was surprised to see Tune standing there waiting with a smile on her faceplates.

"Hey Sari, ready to go?" Tune asked.

Sari nodded and responded, "You bet I am."

Tune nodded before walking outside and transforming before opening her passenger side door. Sari then hopped in before asking, "So, what are we doing today?"

"Well," Tune started, "We are going to be meeting up with my twin and our bondmates at the rest station."

"Why are we going there?" Sari asked. She had found that these Scouters were really random in some of the things that they did. And she couldn't wait to see what they had planned.

"You'll see when we get there." Tune stated with a laugh in her voice.

Sari sighed and leaned back in the seat before asking, "Are we there yet?"

She felt Tune laugh before Tune said, "I know that game Sari and I'm not going to fall into that trap. We'll get there when we get there."

Sari sighed before turning up Tune's radio and hitting a loud rock station. She then tried to turn up the volume but found that the volume wouldn't go up no matter how hard she tried. "Hey, what gives?" Sari asked.

"Music stays at my level." Tune stated.

Sari sighed in boredom before sitting back. That was, until, the song suddenly blared so loud that Sari felt like she was being pressed against the seats. "Whoa!" Sari yelled out. The music was really loud and she loved it.

"And I like my music really loud!" Tune yelled over the blaring music.

Sari let out a whoop before bobbing her head in time with the music. "This is sweet!"

The music lasted for another five minutes before Tune turned down the volume. "Aw!" Sari complained.

Tune then pulled to a stop and opened her door before saying, "We're here."

Sari then hopped out and Tune transformed before the two of them walked into the rest station. Once they got to the security room Sari saw Scale, Foresight, and Hindsight sitting in three of the chairs, waiting.

"Took you two long enough to get here." Scale stated with a smirk.

Tune shook her helm and sat down, Sari going into her robot mode and flying onto Tune's knee, before saying, "Sorry, we had traffic. So, everything ready?"

Sari tapped her foot impatiently and said, "Is somebot going to tell me what we are going to be doing today?"

Foresight smiled and nodded before saying, "Well, a little birdie told us that you like to pull pranks. Well, so do we. And we are planning one for the next bots who come in, and we were wandering if you wanted to help?"

Sari smiled and asked, "So, where do we start?"

The other bots smiled and leaned in closer before they planned their prank. Once they were sure about what they were going to do, they went to the entrance hallway and set it up. It took some jumping over some obstacles, and some servos, but Sari had to admit that this was a very simple yet perfect plan. They had trip wires set up at different heights so a bot of any size could activate it. After that, buckets of instant cement would fall on the unsuspecting bots, trapping them so the five of them would have time to escape.

Once they were sure that everything was set, the five of them went to the security room and turned on the security camera to the hallway where they had setup their prank and waited for the poor bot or bots to arrive. After about ten minutes, everyone tensed as the doors to the station opened.

"Oh, frag." Hindsight stated.

Everyone watched in shock as Pandimala, Optimus, Rodimus, and Brawn walked in and unsuspectingly approached their trip wires.

"We are so much trouble after this, aren't we?" Sari asked.

"Yep." The other four answered at the same time. They had all been secretly hoping that it would be Sentinel that walked through the door. But, things couldn't have gone any different.

They all then watched in horror as the prank activated and the four bots got tangled in the trip wires while the instant cement fell on them before solidifying. The cement packed up so it surrounded all of their pedes and it actually went up to right above Brawn's chestplate.

"TWINS!" Pandimala yelled.

The five of them then glanced at each other before Tune called in an emergency transport to the Scouter base. Before they disappeared, no one noticed the black panther bot transform into a cassette before hopping into the backpack that Sari was carrying.

* * *

Malice was in a panic. She had not expected the patrol that she was on with Strika and Razor to last as long as it did. When Megatron had asked her to accompany them, she thought that they might be out a couple of cycles at most, not almost an entire solar cycle. But, the three of them had gotten so absorbed in their work that none of them had noticed how late it was getting until they had to adjust their optic settings because of the decreasing light. It was then that she had also realized that she had yet to visit Balm and give her daily energon rations to her. She had now missed three of them.

As she ran down the halls of the Shadow with two energon cubes, all she could picture of the scene that she would arrive on was an in-stasis Balm slumped into the corner of the cell, power levels dangerously low and in need of energon transfusions. She knew that the young femme had not had any energon since the solar cycle before and Malice was hitting herself mentally for not asking somebot to give Balm her energon.

She was expecting many things when she entered the brig in full sprint. What she didn't expect was to hear the sound of a femme laughing her helm off. Raising an optic ridge in confusion, Malice quietly walked in front of Balm's cell and smiled at the scene that she found.

Balm was on the floor, laughing her helm off as Rumble and Frenzy were climbing on top of her, tickling her like no other. She smiled as the three of them rolled around on the ground, Balm fruitlessly trying to get away from the twins. She watched this for about three clicks until the twins were finally merciful to Balm and stopped tickling her.

Balm then leaned back against the wall and the twins took a seat on each of her legs, all of their intakes cycling extremely fast, before Balm said, "You two are fun to hang out with."

Frenzy nodded and said, "You know it doc lady."

It was then that Malice noticed a small weld on Frenzy's helm. They must have come here to Balm to get medical help because Razor was out with her. That explained why Balm was already so friendly with the two when it had taken her a little to have Balm trust her.

"We should definitely hang out again sometime doc." Rumble added.

Malice knew that she had to make her presence known so she smiled and said, "And you two will be able to. But, I think that Soundwave was looking for you two and he seemed worried. You two had better go see him."

The three in the cell had jumped at her sudden appearance, to them, and Balm let out a sad smile before asking, "See you two later?"

When they got on the ground, Rumble and Frenzy both nodded before Frenzy said, "Definitely doc lady."

Malice then stepped to the side as the twins ran by, most likely going to Soundwave. She then walked into the cell and sat down before handing Balm her cube of energon before saying, "I am so sorry I'm late Balm. I didn't realize that the time had gone by so fast."

She was really glad when Balm smiled and said, "That's ok Malice. I was really worried this afternoon when my systems were threatening to shut down, but then the twins came by. They had played a prank on somebot and that bot hadn't taken to kindly to it and had took a swipe at them, hitting Frenzy so he was flung into the air before hitting his helm on a corner, causing it to leak energon. They then came to me, since they had heard I was a medic, and told me what happened before asking me to fix Frenzy. I accepted and he was soon fixed up. It was then that my systems reacted to my lack of energon and I almost collapsed into stasis. The twins asked if I was alright and I honestly told them that I hadn't had any energon all day. They then left for a click until they returned with two cubes."

"What happened then?" Malice asked.

Balm smiled, which made Malice's spark soar in happiness. The femme had changed in demeanor so much since she had first come here. "Well, once I took a nice drink, I said thanks and then they asked me my name. I told them before they asked me to tell them stories about my time on Cybertron. I told them something about my time when I was a youngling and they decided to reenact it by ganging up on me and tickling me. That's how you found us."

"Sounds like you have had a very interesting solar cycle." Malice stated.

Balm nodded and said, "Yep. So, how was your patrol?"

Malice smiled before telling Balm about everything that they saw. As she told her story, Malice felt like they were finally having a major breakthrough with Balm. She would have to ask the twins to come in here whenever she couldn't so Balm would get energon. Plus, as she thought, she realized that they could help her get information out of Balm because of the quick bond they had formed.

* * *

Blackbit was awoken by a light tap on his shoulder. He onlined his optics and sat up to see Hinge standing above him. "Yeah Hinge?"

Hinge gave a small smile before saying, "Ultra Magnus and the others just arrived and I figured you would like to be there when we retell this so they won't be disturbing you later."

Blackbit glanced at Tana before nodding standing up and following Hinge out of the room. When he stepped out of the room, he let out a small smile when he saw everybot standing there with comforting looks on their faceplates.

Slapjack walked up to him and gave him a giant hug before saying, "I'm so sorry Black. We got here as soon as we heard."

Blackbit returned the hug before saying, "Thanks Slap."

Ultra Magnus then stepped forward and said, "I know that this is a sensitive time for you Blackbit, but we would like to know what happened to her."

Blackbit let out a sigh before saying, "Well, the first sign of trouble was when Tana contacted me through our bond"

"You two are bonded?" Radar, Suncrest, Pinefrost, Neuro, and Slapjack asked in shock.

Blackbit nodded and said, "Yeah, we got bonded when I got to Earth when we left Cybertron."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Please continue."

Blackbit nodded before saying, "Well, she said that she felt that a strange mech was following her. I told her to make sure that he was acting suspiciously and if he was that she should get out of sight. Well, she then started to contact me on her comm. link when she was cut off. She told me later that she had been grabbed by a mech and the gray and red mech that had been following her had joined him. She had fought them off until she was restrained by two more mechs from behind. She was in a panic and told me to get there soon because the bots that were there seemed to be waiting for something. Next thing I know, Tana screams in a panic for us to get there immediately and I yelled back to her but she didn't respond and all I got through was her fear."

"Did you get there in time?" Neuro asked softly.

Blackbit nodded but said, "We almost didn't. When we arrived, I saw that pit spawn Pitch standing over Tana with a welder and was cutting her faceplate with it. I shot the welder out of his hand and took in the other bots there. They were Pitch, Windbreaker, Burnsport, Firefog and Thunderwave. Pitch threatened Tana but Tana managed to escape and we all ended up fighting the bots. We eventually beat them and they retreated. Tana told us what happened and we started to make our way to HQ when Tana suddenly let out a gasp of pain. She fell forward and I caught her and that's when I saw it. The fragging black dagger in her back."

Blackbit felt like he couldn't continue. Luckily, Chem realized this and took over by saying, "Well, Hinge sent me to get a medic while he contacted Ultra Magnus. I yelled until Splint came out and helped temporarily stabilize her before transporting her here. She is stable for now."

Suncrest let out a small growl and said, "Those five are going to pay for this. They have gone too far."

Ultra Magnus nodded but said, "Yes, but we should wait until Tana has woken up. She would want to be awake when we capture them."

Hinge nodded and said, "She would. But we should all make sure to keep an optic open for them and gather as much information about their recent activity as we can."

Pinefrost glanced at the doors before saying, "We won't be able to do much today though. So, let's head back to our homes and then we can get some rest before meeting up tomorrow."

"I'm staying here with Tana and I'm not leaving until she wakes up." Blackbit stated.

Chem nodded and said, "I figured as much. You'll call us when she wakes up." He then returned his attention back to the others and said, "The rest of us will meet at Guardian HQ, if that is alright, and we can discuss our full game plan then."

Everybot nodded in agreement. Then, Neuro must have thought of something because he said, "Have you bots told your commander about Tana?"

The Guardian's optics widened in shock when they realized that they had forgotten to contact Pandimala and tell her about Tana. Ultra Magnus shook his helm and said, "Hinge, Chem; you two can come with me to Fortress Maximus real quick to place the call in. The rest of you, get some rest. We have a very busy day tomorrow." The group of bots then nodded before going their separate ways. Blackbit knew he was going to have a long night so he went to the main desk to ask for a cube of energon.

* * *

**Blackbit: Oh, I can't wait until I get my servos on those five frag helms.**

**Authoress: Don't worry, you will eventually.**

**Ultra Magnus: And when we do, they will be so sorry.**

* * *

**AN: And here is the next chapter folks. I hope you all liked it. The next chapter has some more fun. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	9. A Bit of Belief

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Where have I been in all of this?**

**Authoress: Don't worry 'Mala, you'll be back in action soon.**

**Chaom: I better be too, otherwise we will have words.**

* * *

Ch. 9: A Bit of Belief

Pandimala was going to find the twins if it was the last thing she did. It had taken them a good four cycles to get out of that fragging cement and her paint was demolished and her wings had scratches on them that took half a cycle to fix. She was going to make them pay for that. If there was one thing that she was self-conscious about, it was her wings. Like most flyers, she took great pride in her wings and she hated if anything had to happen to them that wasn't necessary.

She ran into the Autobot warehouse to see if they were hiding in there. When she got inside though, she had to screech to a halt or she would have run smack into Remcy. She immediately forgot about the twins when she saw the worried look on Remcy's faceplate. "What's wrong Rem?"

Remcy glanced at her before saying, "There's a call coming in from Cybertron for you. Don't know what it is about but I don't think it is going to be a good news report. Their next scheduled normal report isn't until three days."

Pandimala nodded and followed Remcy to the console. She was surprised to see Zarron there. He must have seen the look of confusion on her faceplate because he said, "Bumblebee needed a beak so he took Sari for a drive with both sets of twins."

She saved that little bit of information in the back of her helm for later as she nodded. Now she knew, somewhat, where the twins were and she could get to them easier once this call was finished. "Well, put the call through Rem. Let's see what they needed to call about."

Remcy nodded and typed in a few things before Ultra Magnus, Chem, and Hinge appeared on the screen in front of them. It was the worried looks on their faceplates that had her on high alert. "What's happened?" Pandimala asked in a worried knowing way.

Her worry deepened when Hinge let out a shaky sigh before saying, "It's Tana 'Mala. She…she's been attacked."

That flattened her. Pandimala felt like if her team was being torn apart, slowly. First Balm was still captured by the 'Cons, and now Tana had been attacked. "How is she?" Zarron asked.

Chem took the question and answered, "She's in recovery right now. The doc bots here aren't sure if she is going to pull through or not. Blackbit is with her now. The rest of us here are planning on looking for the bots tomorrow."

Pandimala finally pulled herself together enough to say, "How serious was the injury?"

"She got a dagger in the back. It was thrown from the shadows." Hinge growled.

"Do you know who the responsible bot was?" Remcy asked.

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "We know that the bot responsible for throwing the dagger was a bot named Pitch. But, he had help attacking her. The bots that helped him were Burnsport, Firefog, Thunderwave, and Windbreaker."

Pandimala vaguely remembered Hinge telling her about these bots when they had first joined her team. He had said that they had never found the bots and they hadn't heard from them so no one had really thought much about them. Now, Tana was paying for that. "Thank you for the update. Contact me when she either takes a turn for the most or she wakes up."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Will do. Please contact us when something changes with Balm's situation."

Pandimala nodded before the connection was ended. She then out a shaky sigh before saying, "Well, we had better go tell the others the news."

* * *

Balm woke up feeling nicely rejuvenated. It must have been the 'exercise' she got the other day in the form of the twins tickling her to death. She thought back in her mind to her old opinion of the Decepticons and she had to admit that she had been horribly wrong about them from what she had experienced so far. From most of the rumors she had heard, most bots would have been tortured almost to offlining by now. But, she couldn't have been enjoying herself more if she tried. She got her daily ration of energon and she had company to talk with and play with. This was definitely the best time she could be having as a 'prisoner of war'.

The doors opening had her looking to the front of her cell and she smiled when she saw Rumble and Frenzy pulling a cart with three energon cubes on it. Once they entered, they grabbed a cube each and Balm grabbed one before the three of them started to drink their energon.

"So, doc," Rumble started, "Can you tell us another one of your stories?"

Balm shrugged her shoulders and said, "Depends on when you want me to tell you things from."

"How about how you met your bondmate?" Rumble asked.

Balm hesitated slightly. She went through the options in her head. She could tell them but that would mean that she would be telling them that she had been on Earth for a while. But, she didn't have to tell them about names, just how the events took place. So, she made up her processor and said, "Fine, but you bots had better be comfortable; I'm only telling this once."

Rumble and Frenzy quickly crawled up on her lap before saying, "Ok doc, start please."

Balm smiled and said, "Well, my team and I had just awoken from a forced stasis when we crashed landed here over one hundred stellar cycles ago. When we figured out what planet we were on, which was Earth. We decided to go out and adventure. I got to come here to Detroit and I got my first tour of Sumdac tower. But, when we went back to report, our leader said that a woman that she had met in Egypt had given her tickets to see a band play in America. Our leader had refused at first but the woman had insisted. So, we went to the concert."

"What happened next?" Frenzy asked.

"Well, we were allowed backstage and at the end, the band asked for one of us 'V.I.P.' people, we were in our soliforms, to come out and join them in the last song. We elected our leader and after they were done singing, they asked us to join and we said sure. Well, about a month after the concert, I was going to a medical lecture made by some humans. I wanted to learn what I could just in case we had to fake an injury, I could heal it 'properly'. Well, one of the band members went as well because he was interested in healing injuries that one had on themselves and we happened to bump into each other. About two weeks after that, we started dating."

"Ok, but when did you guys decide to bond?" Rumble asked.

Balm let out a laugh and said, "Well, we dated for quite a while after that. I think it was around Christmas. Now, you have to understand, I still thought that he was a human and he thought that I was one. Well, the original members of the band, who were dating one of us each except for two of them and one of us, called us at the number we gave them and asked us to come to a clearing. This was on Christmas Eve so there was snow on the ground and the wind was slightly blowing. When we arrived at the clearing, we were surprised when each of the boyfriends/girlfriends asked each member of my team that they were dating to marry them. We knew that we couldn't accept without telling them what we truly were so my leader told them how we were really Cybertronians."

"What then?" Frenzy and Rumble asked at the same time.

"Well, instead of freaking out, like we thought that they would, they just smirked and their leader told us to come back in our real forms in fifteen minutes. Well, we were confused but went back to base before doing what we were told. When the fifteen minutes were up, we went back to the clearing and we were surprised to see a variety of vehicles there now. All of the original members then got out of the vehicles and then the leader said that they had something to confess as well." Balm stated.

"What was it?" Frenzy asked.

"He said that they were Cybertronians as well and then they all transformed into their true forms. I watched as my eventual bondmate transformed and knew that I still loved him greatly. They then said that their questions were still good and that they just changed marry to bond. I accepted immediately. We all then stood in the clearing together, listening to the bells go off in the distance, marking that it was now Christmas day." Balm finished with a smile.

Rumble and Frenzy stared at her in shock before Frenzy said, "That was awesome. So, it is like those stories where a bot falls in love with another bot not because of how they look, but because of how they act and what they believe?"

Balm nodded and said, "You can put it like that. But I think it goes a little deeper."

"How come?" Rumble asked.

"Well, to me, it shows that you can't always judge by looks, true, but it also told me that you shouldn't believe everything that you hear." Balm answered.

"How did it tell you that?" Frenzy asked.

"It told me that because the bots on Cybertron have somehow gained a fear of organics, even before we were born, and they said that all organics were dangerous. But, if we would have believed that, we would have never met our bondmates. Since we didn't listen though, and we looked beyond the physical appearance of our boyfriend/girlfriend, we are happy with our mates." Balm answered.

She then glanced around before saying, "Ok, so, who wants to play a game?"

The twins smiled before the three of them started to figure out what game that they were going to play.

* * *

As soon as their extra training was done for the day, Alphego and Shrike wasted no time in transforming and heading to the main med center by Fortress Maximus. They had heard the other day that Tana had been attacked and was in recovery so they had scraped together some of their credits and bought her a little get well gift and card. They wanted to give her a little something because she had been so willing to help them with their training and had even gotten the other Guardians to help, which Chem had that very day. He had helped them with their balance between being on the offensive then the defensive. Shrike still had some problems going from offence to defense while Alphego had the exact opposite problem; he had problems going from defense to offence.

They turned a corner and transformed before walking into the med center and following the different hallways until they arrived at the door that they were sure was Tana's. Alphego and said, "Lady first."

Shrike nodded before she opened the door and walked in. She wasn't surprised to see Blackbit sitting next to Tana's berth. Blackbit seemed to study them for a few seconds before saying, "Ah, you two are Shrike and Alphego, right?"

The two of them nodded and Shrike pulled the gift, which was a cleaning kit for weapons of electrical nature, and card out of her subspace and handed it to Blackbit before saying, "We wanted to give this to Tana in hopes that she will get better soon."

Alphego and Shrike felt happy when Blackbit let out a small smile at the gift and took it before placing it next to Tana.

"How is she doing?" Alphego asked.

Shrike faceplate palmed herself mentally when Alphego asked that. They had just gotten Blackbit to smile and now he lost some of that momentary happiness when Alphego had asked that.

"She's doing a little better then she was yesterday. The medics around here are feeling a little better about her making a recovery." Blackbit answered before he stared at Alphego and asked, "You're the bot that can clone himself, right?"

Alphego was a little stunned that Blackbit asked that but he nodded and said, "Yeah, but I have to concentrate really hard to be able to do that."

Blackbit raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "Are you sure that it is concentrating that is the answer?"

"What do you mean?" Shrike asked.

Blackbit thought about that before saying, "Well, sometimes mods are affected by how confident you are in using them. Yeah, some concentration is important but confidence plays a key role. I remember your showing now. How were you doing on getting your clone to appear before Flarespot said that little quip to you about hurrying up?"

Alphego shifted his pedes a little before saying, "Well, I wasn't doing too good. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make the clone for the instructor."

Blackbit nodded and said, "That's what I thought. But, what were your thoughts when Flarespot said that?"

Alphego thought back and said, "Well, I wanted to show him what I could do to shut him up."

Blackbit nodded enthusiastically before saying, "Exactly. You had the confidence to shut that bot up and so your ability came through. Confidence is key." He then seemed to think for a click before saying, "I want to try something. I haven't had any energon in five cycles and I really don't want to leave the room. Now, do you know where the energon dispenser is here?"

Alphego nodded and said, "Yeah, it's just around the corner of the hallway. Why?"

Blackbit smiled and said, "Because, we are going to do a little training. I want you to make your clone and have them go and get the energon before bringing it in here."

Alphego stared at Blackbit in shock before saying, "I can't do that! I can barely have him show up where I can see him and move when I want him to."

Blackbit stood up and said, "Did you just miss all that I just said? You can do it, just have the confidence and belief in yourself that you can."

Shrike watched as Alphego hesitantly nodded before turning off his optics and focusing. About three clicks later, Shrike was impressed when the clone walked in with a cube of energon in its servo, though the clone was walking like it was overcharged. Blackbit then walked up to the clone and took the cube. Alphego then onlined his optics and the clone disappeared.

"I did it." Alphego stated in shock.

Shrike smiled and ran up to him before saying, "You bet you did it! That was awesome Alphego."

Blackbit nodded and said, "Good job. Just build up that confidence and, soon enough, you won't even have to offline your optics to get that clone of yours summoned."

He then turned to Shrike with a smile before saying, "You're turn."

* * *

Megatron listened as Strika gave her report on her and Malice's patrol. They were planning a battle and they wanted to be sure that they were completely ready to fight. Their attack at the concert had been too under planned and they had completely underestimated the Autobot numbers. Not this time. This time, they would be ready.

"And that was it Lord Megatron." Strika finished.

Megatron was really getting tired of the 'Lord' title. He only used that to make sure that the more wary bots respected his decisions. "Strika, please, call me Megatron. The 'Lord' title is getting annoying."

Strika seemed surprised by this but nodded and said, "Of course L…Megatron."

Megatron actually let out a smile and nodded before saying, "Do you have anything to add Malice?"

Malice shook her helm and said, "Nothing that I can think of." She then glanced around before asking, "Where are Rumble and Frenzy?"

"Answer: Were with Balm. Will return soon." Soundwave answered.

Just then, the doors to the throne room opened and the two symbiots walked in. Megatron motioned to the two of them and asked, "So, what happened at your visit today?"

Rumble shrugged his shoulders and said, "Not much. Except she did tell us how she met her bondmate."

Megatron raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "And how exactly did she meet him?"

Rumble then told them about how Balm had met him at a concert here on Earth and everything after that. Megatron was surprised that Balm went away from the norms of Autobot society and actually got to know an organic. As a Decepticon, he had learned, that organics weren't usually deadly to Cybertronians and that they could actually be very useful.

Megatron raised an optic ridge when Frenzy hit his brother and said, "Bro, you forgot the other tidbit of info."

"And what was that Frenzy?" Megatron asked.

"Well, Balm told us that she and her team have been here on Earth for over one hundred stellar cycles." Frenzy stated.

That caught Megatron's attention. He did some quick calculations and realized that he and the Autobots crashed here fifty stellar cycles ago. That means that Balm and her friends had been here fifty more stellar cycles then he had. That was a very long time away from Cybertron. Now he was wondering why she had been away from Cybertron for so long.

"Did she tell you why they left Cybertron in the first place?" Pandemonium asked.

Rumble shook his helm and said, "Sorry boss. She didn't say anything about why they left."

Megatron frowned but said, "Good work you two."

"So, vhat are ve going to do about zhe Autobots vhen ve fight zem?" Blitzwing asked. Everybot in the room then joined in and discussed what they thought that they should do. It took a little but they finally came up with a plan.

* * *

**Authoress: So, this was fun.**

**Shrike: Yeah, Alphego is getting better at using his mod.**

**Alphego: Yeah, but I still have a long way to go.**

**Authoress: Don't sell yourself short Alphego, you did great.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, so here was a fun chapter. Balm is starting to open up more to the 'Cons. This should be interesting. Until then though, please read and review. but no flames.**


	10. Training

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**'Mala: Ok, why is this chapter shorter?**

**Authoress: Because the end of this chapter is interesting.**

**Chaom: I'll bet you a cube of high grade that it won't be interesting.**

**Authoress: You're on.**

* * *

Ch. 10: Training

Prowl and Jazz were sitting in the middle of the woods outside of Detroit. With all of the craziness that had been going on, they hadn't had much time to just go out and practice their cyber ninja skills and they felt that this was the best time to get some practice in. So, they had told Optimus that they were going to be out there and that if they were going to reach them.

"Ok Prowler, so what do say about getting some target practice in before we meditate?" Jazz asked.

Prow nodded and said, "Doesn't sound like a bad idea at all."

The two cyber ninjas then picked out a tree that they were going to use for target practice. Jazz went first and used his nun chucks to cut off two of the smaller branches on the tree and then used the trunk to jump back next to Prowl. He then turned to Prowl before saying, "Your turn."

Prowl nodded and took a stance in front of the tree before whipping out his shruikens and firing three of them. The first two hit dead on but the third one veered and flew out of sight. "Frag. I guess I need more practice then I thought." Prow stated.

Jazz put a servo on Prowl's shoulder and said, "That's ok mech. That's why we're out here."'

The two of them then jumped when they heard a thud in the space in between their helms. They both turned and Jazz was shocked to see the shruiken that had missed the tree. How did it get back?

"Hey mechs, mind if we join you?"

The two Autobots then watched as Scale and Tune walked out of the tree line and moved toward them. They then heard Scale continue, "Because we haven't practiced our skills in a while and we know that we should have them better when we fight the 'Cons."

Jazz stared at the femmes with a knowing look before saying, "This wouldn't have anything to do with getting away from some bots that you have recently played a cement prank on?"

Tune smiled but said, "It might have a little but we really do need to practice."

Prowl nodded and said, "So, what kind of mods do you two have?"

"I have a blaster that replaces my left servo and I have this katana here." Tune answered as she pulled the katana out from behind her back.

"And I have the same." Scale answered.

Jazz nodded. He was impressed. These femmes seemed to be packing more then they let on. But, he was really curious about how well they could fight without their mods. "How about this. Tune, you spar me and Scale, you spar Prowl. No weapons. Let's see how good we are without them."

Tune and Scale shrugged before saying, "Sure."

But, before they could start, all of their comm. links went off and they all answered them. "Hey this is Jazz."

"Jazz, this is Optimus. Get to my coordinates immediately. The 'Cons are…" Optimus started to answer before the comm. link was disrupted.

Everyone turned to each other before Prowl said, "I'll contact the other Autobots and get them to Optimus' coordinates."

Tune nodded before saying, "I'll contact the other Scouters. Let's roll." The four ninjas nodded before transforming and driving off toward Optimus' position.

* * *

"Ok Bumblebee, now, what do you see?" Zarron asked Bumblebee as they stopped in the park. This was a common exercise that he would do with most trainees to see how much he had to work on how observant they were. So far, Bumblebee was doing pretty good and Zarron was feeling that he would have to go to the next level of training with him.

Bumblebee glanced around before saying, "Well, there are a lot of humans out and about, walking through the grass. There is a small breeze that shouldn't affect most shots fired. And the area is clear of all enemies."

Zarron nodded and said, "Ok, now I want you to go ahead and take a picture of the traffic on the other side of the park. I don't want you seen by anyone and I want you to report back to this location unseen."

Bumblebee nodded confidently and went off. But, what Bumblebee didn't know was that he was going to be following him on the path to see if he could see the mech's movements. So, he waited about five seconds after he lost sight of Bumblebee before starting to follow the mech. As he traveled through the woods, Zarron was impressed that he was seeing few signs that Bumblebee came by. Most bots that he would train, on their first run, would leave a boat load of mistakes and he would have to spend countless time trying to explain to the bot what they had gotten wrong and how they could improve. The only thing that he could see was wrong with Bumblebee was that he was traveling too fast and he was leaving behind a visible trail of broken twigs and leaves where he had trod. And that should be an easy problem to fix.

He then returned to the spot where he had told Bumblebee to meet him and he only had to wait a few clicks before Bumblebee showed up, twigs in his joints. Zarron smiled as Bumblebee asked, "So, how did I do teach?"

"Well, you did extremely well compared to many of the bots that I have trained in the past. But, there was one flaw that we need to work on." Zarron stated.

"What is that?" Bumblebee asked in confusion. Zarron could see that the young bot was going over everything that he did, trying to figure out what he had messed up on.

"It is actually quite simple. You went too fast through the environment and you left behind a trail that many bots could follow. You need to slow down and make every step count when you are traveling because each step that you don't account for could cost you." Zarron answered.

Bumblebee went to say something when both of their comm. links went off. They both answered and Zarron asked, "This is Zarron."

"Zarron, it's Tune, something has happened to Optimus and we can't contact him. Here are the coordinates he sent us. Get there pronto." Tune stated.

"Be there in a jiffy." Zarron stated before turning off the connection.

He and Bumblebee then shared a glance before nodding and transforming before driving off to the location that they were given.

* * *

Pandimala was breaking down. She felt like everything was falling apart. She was losing her team and she couldn't do a thing about it. Tana was in recovery on Cybertron and the medics weren't sure if she was going to make it and Balm was still a captive of the Decepticons suffering who knows what horrors to make her talk about the information that she might hold.

Pandimala slammed her fist down on the side of her berth in frustration. She felt so weak and she couldn't help her friends. Frag it why couldn't she help them? She felt like a useless glitch. She growled to herself before standing up and pacing in her room. Pandimala was just wishing that one thing could go right. Just one simple thing would be amazing.

'**Mala dear, you aren't a worthless glitch. I should know. I am your bondmate. **Chaom tried to comfort with a wave of love coming through with his voice.

Pandimala couldn't help but smile and send a wave back before saying, **I know dear, but I have never felt so helpless to help my friends in my entire existence. We were always at each other's sides and now, when they most need me, I can't do a blasted thing.**

**Pandimala, you can help them by making plans to get Balm back and saying a silent prayer to Primus for Tana whenever you can. You are not supposed to be everywhere at once 'Mala. Sometimes thing will happen that you can't stop. What you need to do is just be ready to help when something like this happens sweetspark. And remember that I will always love you dear and I will be behind you one hundred percent. **Chaom answered.

Pandimala felt a lot better after that and sent a wave of gratitude to Chaom before saying, **Thank you dear. Where are you at?**

**I'm flying over Detroit now and it is a lovely day out. Why don't you come on out here and join me?**

**Sure Chaom, just give me a… **Pandimala started but then stopped when she felt a wave of determination come through from Chaom. **What's the matter Chaom?**

**Decepticons attacking Optimus and some of the other Autobots by a cliff at these coordinates. Get down here as soon as you can. **Chaom answered.

**Be there immediately Chaom. **Pandimala answered. She then walked toward the teleport system and typed in coordinates that were near the ones that Chaom sent her. She did this because she didn't want to teleport into the middle of a fire fight and get accidently hit. She would rather fly into the fight and see where she was most needed. Once she had the coordinates in, she hopped into the teleport before she disappeared.

* * *

Malice growled as more bots kept showing up. She and Strika where on patrol, trying to figure out a some points for their actual attack on the Autobots when some of the blasted Autobots showed up and started firing on them, forcing them to call in back up and starting a giant fight. As the fight went on, more and more bots started showing up and they were having a hard time fighting the 'Bots because of their numbers.

"Malice, darling, I could use a spot of help." Pandemonium asked over the comm. link.

Malice sighed to herself before asking, "With what dear?"

"I am fighting this triple changer mech who looks like a clone of Blitzwing and the other Autobots are firing on me. I can handle the mech but I wouldn't mind it if you would come here and take care of the other's so I can concentrate on fighting this mech. He is a really good fighter and I would like to get out of this without major injuries that need fixed." Pandemonium answered.

Malice sighed before asking, "Where are you at exactly in this mess dear?" When Pandemonium sent her the coordinates, she cursed at his stinking luck. He was clear on the other side of the battle field and she would have to go out across the firing zone to get to him. "You would be that far away dear. Hang on, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"You know I love you dear." Pandemonium stated before he cut the line.

Malice sighed and shook her helm before running across the battle field. While she was running, she thought about how surprised she was when Anarcum and Betaxia had transformed and she had seen that strange symbol on them. She had tried to engage them in battle to talk to them about it but one of Strika's team members had confronted them both and she had no way of getting in on that fight. It had broke her spark slightly to see that her second creation was now an Autobot but at least he seemed to still fight like a 'Con and still had some basic honor skills that the 'Cons taught that most Autobots seemed to forget.

She was almost within sight of Pandemonium when she heard the sound of a jet coming from ahead of her and where Pandemonium was. She glanced and saw a black and lime green jet that seemed very familiar to her but she had no clue as to where she could have seen it. But, she felt this unknown pull at her spark that told her that this jet was important to her.

The sound of a shot firing caused her to flinch and she watched as a round went flying toward the jet. She flinched when the shot hit the jet's wings and it went down in the trees. Seeing that everybot else was still fighting, she went into the woods were the jet landed and took out her sword before stepping into the clearing where the jet landed. As she got within sight, the jet transformed and Malice felt her spark stop in shock. The two femmes stared at each other in shock. They couldn't believe that the other was here now.

For the first time, after many stellar cycles of being apart, carrier and creation were standing faceplate to faceplate.

* * *

**All bots: *staring in shock***

**Chaom: Oh my Primus. *hands over a cube of high grade***

**Authoress: *smiles* Pleasure doing business with you Chaom.**

* * *

**AN: I hope you all liked this. Yeah! Pandimala is going to be meeting her creators after all this time! Also, remember that 'Mala has learned many things about the Autobots that she didn't know before running away. That's all the hint I am going to give you. Until next chapter, please read and review. But no flames.**


	11. Dawn of a New Day

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: So, who's ready for the next chapter?**

**Blackbit: I want Tana to be awake.**

**Authoress: Well, you'll have to wait and see Black.**

* * *

Ch. 11: Dawn of a New Day

Chaom was impressed with the black seeker mech in front of him. He was not only fighting very well, but he was fighting honorably. He wasn't trying to use tricks to gain an unfair advantage or trying to run when he looked like he might have a chance of losing, he stayed strong and just kept swinging that sword of his. Chaom swirled to the left after a particularly fast strike before using his blade to parry the mech's blade.

"You are a very good fighter for one so young." The jet mech commented.

Chaom pressed against the deadlock that they were now in before saying, "You aren't so bad yourself, for an old bot."

The two then parted and Chaom ran to attack the mech again. This fight was very fun and he wasn't sure that there were many things that would make him stop.

**Chaom, stop fighting that mech now and point your blade to the ground now!** Pandimala suddenly yelled through the bond.

That was one of the things that could get him to stop and he was surprised when they both he and the jet mech screeched to a stop at the same time and simultaneously put their sword points in the ground.

"Why are you stopping?" Chaom asked.

"Bondmate yelled at me to. And I don't want to get her angry at me." He then asked, "Why'd you stop?"

Chaom shook his helm at the fate and said, "Same."

The two mechs then headed into the woods and Chaom was shocked to see that Pandimala was hugging the gray and lime green helicopter femme that he had seen earlier. Now he was really confused.

"Pandimala?" The black jet mech next to him questioned with disbelief in his voice.

Chaom raised an optic brow when 'Mala turned to the mech and smiled before saying, "Sire!" And she ran up to him before giving the jet mech a giant hug.

Chaom now, somewhat, realized what was going on. This was her sire and carrier that she hadn't seen since she was a sparkling. But, he still wanted an introduction. **Dear, are you going to give me an introduction or am I going to have to beg for it?**

Pandimala laughed out loud before walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders before saying, "Sire, carrier; this is Chaom. He is my bondmate. Chaom, this is Malice and Pandemonium and they are my carrier and sire."

Chaom nodded and shook Pandemonium's servo before saying, "It is an honor to meet you sir." He then turned to Malice, who had walked up to them, and shook her servo before saying, "And it is an honor to meet you ma'am."

Malice nodded and said, "I hope you have been taking good care of our little Pandimala?"

Chaom nodded and said, "Sure have."

"Pandimala, while I am not going to say that I didn't appreciate the warm welcome, I am still surprised by it. The last time we met, you sounded like you hated us. What changed?" Pandemonium asked.

Pandimala frowned a little and said, "I did hate you then. I hated that you supported the 'Cons and were against the Autobots. But, when I became an adult, I realized that there are some idiots in the council, though some of them are good bots, and I learned that sometimes you can't believe everything you hear. Then, when I met Anarcum and Betaxia here on Earth, they got me thinking that the only reason that I was upset with you was because you were 'Con supporters and that you had treated me fairly and with love before I ran away. So, I put away that anger."

Malice nodded but said, "You do realize that we will have to fight each other still since we are on opposite sides, right?"

Pandimala nodded but said, "Yes, but at least we know that there are no hard feelings between us so we don't have to fight to kill. We can think of it more as sparring then fighting."

Chaom loved this. He had hated Pandimala's bad mood earlier and she was now as happy as could be. He really didn't want this moment to end. But, when he heard Megatron call in the retreat, he knew that this now had to end.

Malice and Pandemonium must have known this to because they gave Pandimala a quick hug goodbye before Pandemonium said, "We will talk again dear. I'm just happy that you are alive."

The then went to leave but Pandimala then asked, "How is Balm?"

Malice smiled and said, "Well, she has made a few friends and she seems very happy. I'm not sure when Megatron will want her release but I have been watching over her while she has been with us and she has been having a blast. I'll tell her that you all miss her when we get back. Nothing will happen to her while I am watching her 'Mala."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Thank you carrier. I know that we can't ask for her back now but please watch over her. Her bondmate is very worried."

Malice seemed like she wanted to ask another question but the sound of Megatron again ordering the retreat caused her to just nod before both her and Pandemonium to transform and go off. When they were out of sight, Chaom pulled Pandimala closer to him before saying, "You seem happier dear."

Pandimala in return snuggled closer to him before saying, "Chaom, sweetspark, things are finally looking up. Now all we need to do is end this blasted war so we can all be happy and with the ones that we love."

* * *

Balm was surprised when Malice practically ran into her cell with the largest smile on her faceplates before giving her the largest hug that she could. Balm raised an optic ridge and asked, "Malice, are you ok?"

Malice backed up and still had that smile on her faceplates while saying, "Balm, I couldn't be happier. I knew that there was something familiar about you when I first saw you but I couldn't figure out what it was. But, today, I finally put the pieces together and I couldn't be more excited than I am now."

Balm was now starting to get freaked out. Malice seemed overly excited and it was scaring her. "What is it Malice? How am I familiar?" She also wanted to know because it might help explain to her why Malice still seemed familiar to her. She had tried to glean how the femme was familiar but she couldn't put the pieces together.

"I know who your leader is. It's Pandimala. Oh, I knew that those optics looked familiar." Malice answered.

Balm was now hitting herself for not seeing it before. This femme in front of her reminded her of 'Mala. But, she wanted to know how Malice knew Pandimala. "How do you know Pandimala?" Balm asked.

Malice smiled and said, "Why, it is because I am her carrier. We met on the battle field today and we have made up."

Balm finally allowed a smile to appear on her faceplate. This meant that Pandimala would be so much happier now. "I knew you looked familiar. That's why I was studying you when we first met. Pandimala has so many of your qualities that I should have realized it sooner."

Malice smiled and said, "So, how did you meet my 'Mala?"

Balm smiled and said, "Well, we went to boot camp together. I was a more nervous bot then I am nowadays and Pandimala and our friend Tana had come in one day from the Autobot academy housing to join us for our first day and to train with us. I was shocked about how tall she was and blurted that out. I felt so embarrassed when I did that. I immediate said that I didn't mean any offence and they forgave me. They then asked me to be their friend and I said ok. The five of us, us three femmes and two mechs named Zarron and Remcy, became really close friends and nothing was going to stop that. We've all been friends ever since boot camp."

Malice smiled at that. She then stood up and said, "The twins are going to be in here soon and they are bringing one of those human cartoon movies for you three to watch. I have to go report to Megatron. I'll see you tomorrow Balm, unless I get patrol of course."

Balm smiled and said, "Ok, and I'll be waiting Malice." Balm then watched as Malice walked out. Once the femme was gone, Balm smiled to herself. Maybe, just maybe, she would be back with Stormfire soon. But, she knew, as with all things, that only time would tell. At least there was something to be happy about in this war now. Pandimala had made up with her carrier and she was happy.

* * *

Stormfire was not in the best of moods. He had been missing Balm and it felt like no one was doing a blasted thing to get her back. He knew that the thought wasn't true but he couldn't help but feel like it was true. It didn't help that Sentinel kept getting on his nerves. That bot had a lot of ball bearings to keep saying that crap in front of him. Sentinel had been lucky that he hasn't ripped his spark out. But, he couldn't be the one to break the alliance, even though he had felt like it on many occasions because of that frag helm.

When he walked into the control room of the Estia, he was surprised to see that Remcy was sitting there, typing away like a mad bot. "Hey Rem, what are you doing?" Stormfire asked.

Remcy turned around and let out a sigh before saying, "Well, I am trying to get into this one file that we found in the Autobot files."

Stormfire was now curious so he took the seat next to Remcy and asked, "What kind of file do you think that it is?"

Remcy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, we think that it has something to do with why the organics were kicked off of Cybertron and why the rumor spread that they were all deadly."

"Really?" Stormfire asked in shock. He knew that Remcy was a really good hacker, but he didn't think that he could get to a file that buried that deeply, especially if the Autobot council didn't want other bots knowing about it.

"Yeah, and from the little bit of information that I have gotten from other files, it seems as if the whole council wasn't even involved in this project." Remcy answered before clicking away.

The two bots then jumped when a small ping went off and stared at the screen when an auxiliary file popped out of the main file that Remcy was trying to get into. Stormfire stared at the title and was surprised to see that it was labeled 'List of bots read in'. That as the most obvious of titles that they could have used.

Remcy wasted no time in clicking on the file and seeing what was inside of it. He was shocked when a list of about twenty names appeared on the screen. Stormfire glanced at the names and growled to himself when he noticed a few familiar names. One was Dragstrip and there were a few other names of bots on the council that he knew.

"Frag, well, that's not going to work now." Remcy muttered as he looked at the list.

"What's not going to work Rem?" Stormfire asked.

"Well, I had been planning on asking Alpha Trion about this but his name isn't on here. That means that he has no clue what I would be talking about. Actually," Remcy answered before going through the names again and saying, "I don't see Knockout, Breakdown, Botanica, or Chromia on here either. Scrap, that means that none of them will know what I am talking about. Scrap that went downhill fast."

Stormfire nodded but then an idea popped into his helm. "You might not be able to ask them for the information, but you can ask them to snoop around and see if they can't find out anything about the information that you are looking for. Heck, they might even be able to get you the password to that file that you are trying to get into."

Remcy smiled at that and said, "You're right Storm. But for now, I'm going to try and crack this thing open."

Stormfire nodded and continued to watch Remcy type away at the computer.

* * *

The first thing that she was aware of was the sound of a constant and steady beeping sound. It was annoying the frag out of her. She just wanted it to shut up so she could go back to sleep. But, the stupid thing wasn't stopping so she moved a little before letting out a groan and onlining her optics.

She smiled when the first thing she saw was Blackbit's relieved look when she locked optics with him. She watched as a lot of stress seemed to leave his features. She then went to sit up when she felt a sharp pain in her back and she let out a groan before Blackbit help her lay back down.

"Lay back down Tana. You've definitely earned it." Blackbit stated.

Tana raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "What happened?"

Blackbit's smile faltered as he said, "You were attacked by Pitch and those other bots."

That was when it all came back to Tana. The sneak attack by those four mechs. Pitch arriving and starting to cut her faceplate with the welder. Blackbit and the others arriving to help her. The five frag helms escaping. Them all heading back to base. And then she remembered the pain of the dagger impaling her back and she let out another wince.

Blackbit put a servo on her servo before saying, "Relax sweetspark. You're safe now."

Tana then glanced around and saw that she had gifts and metal flowers everywhere in her room. She tilter her helm to the side and asked, "Where did all of those come from?"

Blackbit's smile returned and said, "Well, I can't remember exactly who gave you what, but they came from Slap, Lavana, Radar, Pinefrost, Suncrest, Neuro, Hinge, Chem, me, Ultra Magnus, and the council members that like us. Everybot has been extremely worried about you dear."

"Yes we have. And it is nice to see that you are awake."

Tana and Blackbit then looked at the door when Alpha Trion said that when he and Ultra Magnus walked in. Tana struggled to sit up to show respect to him but let out a groan of pain when another wave of pain traveled from her back.

"Tana, I told you to lay down. Stop trying to sit up." Blackbit huffed in a caring way as he helped her lay back down.

Tana smiled and looked at Ultra Magnus when he said, "Everybot has been extremely worried about you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling bored out of my processor and I want to get up. But besides that I'm fine." Tana answered with a smile.

Ultra Magnus let out a laugh at that and said, "Well, once you recover you can get up and do as much fun stuff as you can."

Blackbit smiled before adding, "Plus, we asked the others to save hunting the bots who did this to you until you are ready to join us."

Tana smiled and said, "That sounds like fun. If any of you do anything fun without me. I am going to make sure you never hear the end of it."

Blackbit raised his servos in a defensive way before saying, "I would never do anything fun without you."

Tana shook her helm and smiled before turning to Alpha Trion as he said, "And don't worry about Pandimala. She has already been informed of your injury and is waiting to hear back from us since you are now awake."

Tana smiled and said, "Thanks bots."

Ultra Magnus and Alpha Trion then left, leaving her and Blackbit alone. She then turned to Blackbit as he said, "Oh, and Shrike and Alphego will be stopping by here soon. I've been helping them build up some confidence and I've been helping them learn how to use their abilities better. They've been really worried about you. I think you've made an impression on them."

Tana smiled at that and said, "It should be fun. Plus, helping them will give me something to do."

Blackbit then nodded and the two of them waited for Shrike and Alphego to arrive.

* * *

**Blackbit: Thank you Authoress, Tana is finally awake.**

**Tana: And it is good to be back dear.**

**Authoress: I'm glad you two are happy.**

**Stormfire: Now, about Balm...**

**Authoress: *gulps***

* * *

**AN: So, here was a really happy chapter. Next chapter is going to be pretty interesting. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	12. A Clear Day

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: And I am back with another chapter.**

**Pandimala: What took so long?**

**Authoress: You will find out at the end.**

* * *

Ch. 12: A Clear Day

Pandimala couldn't keep from smiling. This day had started out crappy but it had gotten so much better when she had gone to that battle. And there was something else she had thought she would never think. They day had gotten better by fighting. It was almost ironic. Normally fighting would make the day worse. Not today though. Today, fighting had been the best thing. She had been reunited with her carrier and sire and she had been able to introduce her bondmate to them. Plus, she had also found out that Balm was doing just fine on the Decepticon ship and she was having fun.

She was just walking into the Autobot warehouse when she saw that Optimus, Elita, and Rodimus were running up to her so she stopped and said, "Hey bots."

The three Autobots stopped in front of her before saying, "Remcy just called in and said that there is a call from Ultra Magnus waiting for you at the Cavern. We were wondering if we could go with you."

Pandimala's mood just went down the drain when they said that. Thoughts of Tana and her current unknown condition just made her feel terrible. But, she hid that and nodded to the bots before saying, "Sure, let's get down there so we can see what he wants."

The others nodded and Pandimala turned on her communicator before saying, "'Mala to Cavern. Requesting a transport for four please."

"Sure thing sis." She heard Anarcum say before everything in front of her disappeared and the four of them ended up at the Cavern.

Pandimala then walked to the main console and typed in the call to answer the call before saying, "Hey Ultra Magnus. Pandimala, Optimus, Rodimus, and Elita here."

Pandimala felt some hope when Ultra Magnus smiled and said, "You look better then you did the other day. And I'm about to make your day a lot better."

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at that before saying, "That would be some pretty big news Ultra Magnus."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Well, how big of news is it that Tana is now awake and wanting to get out of berth because boredom is already getting to her?"

And Ultra Magnus did it. He made the day so much better for her. She felt like she was going to explode from the happiness that she was feeling. This day was just going great. First she got to meet her creators and made up with them so they are now on better terms. Her carrier is watching over Balm while she is at the 'Con base so that took some stress of her processor. Now, Ultra Magnus just called and said that Tana was awake and on the mend.

The sound of something moving in her vision caused Pandimala to take a glance at the keyboard and she stared in confusion at a small black cassette. It didn't look like something that any of them owned.

Ultra Magnus must have noticed her look of caution because he immediately started talking about all that had been going on in Cybertronian society. Pandimala casually put a servo down next to the mysterious cassette before slightly moving it toward the cassette.

Everybot jumped when the cassette transformed into a jaguar before jumping out and racing toward the teleport, where Remcy was about to teleport to Detroit.

"Remcy, don't teleport!" Pandimala yelled at her friend.

Remcy turned to her in shock and watched as the small bot hopped into the teleport field and the two of them disappeared.

Pandimala then ran back to the screen and said, "We'll have to let you go Ultra Magnus. I do not like where this is going."

Ultra Magnus nodded in understanding before cutting the line. Pandimala then ran to the teleport and transported herself to Remcy's location. When she got there, she cursed when she saw that she was just outside the Autobot rest station. She then watched as a bat flew out of the station. How did it get there? She was almost positive that she would find, on the security cameras at the Autobot warehouse, another small bot would have infiltrated the systems.

* * *

After hearing about the infiltrations at the three main bases, Zarron decided that he didn't want to deal with the stress so he had called Hot Shot, Ratchet, Arcee, and Beam and had asked them to go to that island that Balm and Stormfire had told them about. But, Ratchet had said that the Dinobots were not exactly welcoming to other bots coming to their island.

So, they had all decided to just take a drive on the beach that was across from the island. Zarron was enjoying drifting in the sand and even getting his tires a little wet.

"Zar! You're getting me all sandy!" Beam said with some laughter before getting closer to him and swerving, getting the sand all on him. "Let me return the favor!"

Zarron laughed as he started to spin. They hadn't had a fun day for quite some time and he was really enjoying this. The sounds of bots yelping in shock caused him to transform and he saw that he had gotten the other bots sandy as well.

Instead of getting angry, like he thought they would, they all transformed and Arcee picked up a pile of sand before saying, "Well, looks like we get to return the favor as well."

Zarron then had to duck as four balls of wet sand came flying at him. He laughed and picked up his own pile before chucking it at Hot Shot. Hot Shot ducked and said, "Oh, it's on Zarron. It's on" He then proceeded to throw a pile at Zarron when one hit him in the back of the helm. Hotshot turned and saw that Beam was standing there with a smirk on her faceplates.

"No one hits my mate but me without paying." Beam stated with a smile before chucking her pile at Arcee.

She then let out a giggle as a gigantic pile fell from above her. Ratchet let out a small smile before saying, "Two can play at that game Beam."

Zarron picked up a pile and went to throw it when he let out a screech of pain as a weird wet substance slammed into his back and he felt it burn his armor.

Beam let out a growl and came up to him while the others turned at his cry of pain and that was when Zarron turned to see this weird looking human…thing. The human figure was covered in an almost liquid substance that seemed to be oozing from everywhere. The only part that wasn't oozing was his clothes, which were surprisingly untouched.

It was a growl from Ratchet that he knew that this human wasn't exactly friendly.

"Meltdown, I thought that Optimus got rid of you." Ratchet growled.

The human thing, Meltdown, chuckled and said, "Get rid of me? Ha! You will never be rid of me. Machines are a filth and they need to be eradicated. Were ever you disgusting machines are, I will be there to put a stop to you."

Zarron was already tired of Meltdown. He had injured him and now he was going on about how they were 'machines'. He took a quick scan of Meltdown and noted, with glee, that his darts would work the same on him as they would on bots, but the dart would melt so he would have to make sure the shot counted.

**Beam darling, I hate to ask you this, but do you think that you could draw his attention so he won't move.** Zarron asked his mate. He hated to put her in danger but he figured that she would be able to distract him long enough for him to shoot this idiot. His back was starting to sting and it was not fun.

**What do you have planned dear?** Beam asked.

**Well, I took a scan of this idiot in front of us and I can use my darts on him without any nasty side effects. I just need you to get his attention because I don't want to miss because my dart is going to melt when it contacts and I have to make sure that I don't waste the shot. I need Ratchet to look at my back because it is killing me. **Zarron answered.

Beam then nodded before walking forward and saying, "You talk a big talk, but what about our opinion on you? You are just organic filth that can be obliterated by us at our choosing." Meltdown turned his full attention to her as she said this. She then continued, saying, "Us 'machines', as you put it, were built carefully and skillfully. What can you humans say? That you were created by a freak accident that caused some bacteria to come alive and start to multiply and evolve? You dare to call us simple minded machines when you are only here due to a freak event that might not have happened. At least we were specifically built, you pathetic slime freak."

Zarron lined up his shot and was about to fire when Meltdown said, "You dare say that to me you piece of scrap metal? I guess I'll have to put humans, not machine, back on top of the heap."

Zarron growled as Meltdown went to throw some more of that acid at his mate. He quickly flicked his wrist and fired his dart. He smirked when the dart hit the slagger and emptied its contents before the dagger melted.

Meltdown staggered back and sent a glare to them all before saying, "I'll be back you wretched machines." He then hopped into the ocean and disappeared.

Zarron was going to ask about that but he hissed in pain from the pain coming from his shoulder. He turned to Ratchet and asked, "Hey doc, think you could fix me up?"

* * *

Megatron was pacing in his throne room. He was waiting for Malice to come back from seeing Balm to tell him this exciting news that both her and Pandemonium had discovered during the previous battle, which he was still upset about. He was really hoping that this news would be really good.

"Pandemonium, how much longer is your mate going to be?" Megatron asked.

Pandemonium shrugged his shoulders and said, "With Malice, if she started talking with Balm, we could be waiting a lot longer."

Megatron growled impatiently before sitting on his throne with a huff. He hated not knowing what was going on. What could be so important that he had to wait this long?

As he waited, Megatron's thoughts went to the battle that they had just had, and more specifically, to the black motorcycle mech with blue flames. He had heard of the mech, who he was sure was named Zarron, and how he was supposedly the greatest scout trainer to ever exist. Megatron had even heard that the mech had done better on the placing test the creators of the test. That was a feat that was not easy to overcome. He could not think of any bot that he knew that had ever come close to how the creators did. Remembering how well the mech had exhibited this during the battle, he made a mental note to, if he ever met the mech while not fighting, ask him how he was able to do so well on the test.

The doors opening up in front of him made Megatron glance up and he was relieved to see that Malice was walking in at that very moment. The first thing that he noticed was the radiating look that was adorning her faceplates. He hadn't seen her that happy in about a couple hundred stellar cycles. He tried to figure out what could possibly have made her so happy from the last battle. He couldn't think of anything happy that had happened. "Malice, it is nice that you arrived. Now, what is so joyous that you would not allow your bondmate to inform me until you arrived?"

Megatron was not prepared for Malice running up to him and embracing him with a joyful hug. He was even more confused when she said, "Oh, I can't believe this is happening! I thought this would never happen in all of those stellar cycles of waiting and hoping, I never dreamed this at all!"

"Malice dear, why don't you tell Megatron our good news before I have to." Pandemonium suggested with a smile.

Megatron couldn't help but smile when he saw the smile that was plastered on Malice's faceplate when she stepped back. He hadn't seen many of the bots smile like that in a long time, not since Malice first had Pandimala.

"Oh Megatron, it is such wonderful news!" Malice yelled out, still not realizing that she hadn't informed Megatron of this news.

Megatron shook his helm before standing up and grabbing Malice's shoulders to calm her down before asking, "Malice, please don't make me beg for this information. I could use some good news after our recent defeat."

Malice let out a breath before smiling bigger and saying, "It's Pandimala, Megatron, she is alive!"

"How do you know this? Did one of the bots at the battle mention her being alive?" Megatron asked in shock. They had all feared that Pandimala had gone offline for some reason because, when Shockwave was under cover on Cybertron, he could not find any data for Pandimala.

Malice shook her helm and said, "No."

"Then how do you know?" Megatron asked.

"She was there!" Malice stated in jubilee.

Megatron smiled a true genuine smile at that. When Pandimala had been born, they had all had such high hopes for her. Many in the upper command even believed that she would hold the key to ending the war. But, when she had supposedly disappeared from Autobot record, they had all given up hope. Now, now there was hope. "Was she upset with you and Pandemonium?" Megatron asked.

Pandemonium shook his helm and said, "No, well she said she was when she ran, but now that she had grown up, she had learned that we were right about some of the council members, though not all of them, and she said the only reason that she had ever been upset with us is because we supported you all."

Malice nodded and said, "Yes, that's all nice but there are two things about her that you need to know."

"And what are they Malice?" Megatron asked.

"Well, first off, she had the same strange symbol that Balm did." Malice stated.

Megatron nodded and said, "That must mean that you could possibly get the information we are looking for from her as well."

Malice nodded and said, "Yes, and the other information is that she is bonded to that mech that looks like Blitzwing. His name is Chaom."

Now, that had shocked Megatron like no other. He had never expected Pandimala to settle down with anybot so early in her life. He thought she would have waited. "Is he a good mech?"

Pandemonium nodded and said, "I thought I was fighting a Neutral when I was fighting him before I saw his insignia. He fights pretty good and has a very nice sense of morality and honor. I don't think that I could have chosen a better mech for her."

Megatron nodded at that before saying, "Ok, now, we need to adjust our plans for our actual attack."

Malice and Pandemonium nodded before gathering around and discussing their plan.

* * *

As Zarron drove next to Bumblebee, after Ratchet had patched him up, he was glad to note that Bumblebee had learned to slow down, a little, but he still had the tendency to race any of the humans that challenged him. That would usually end with Zarron having to pull in front of Bumblebee and remind him that they were practicing slowing down.

At this moment, Zarron was taking him to the Autobot warehouse. He had heard that they had a conveyer belt that they used for training that would help Bumblebee learn to slow down.

When they arrived, the two mechs transformed before walking in to see who was there. Zarron was glad that it was Sari. He had noticed how friendly Bumblebee and Sari were so he could use that to his advantage.

"Hey Bumblebee, Zarron; what are you two doing here? I thought that you two were training." Sari asked.

Zarron nodded and said, "We are, and that is why we are here right now. I am going to be testing Bumblebee on that conveyer belt you all use sometimes."

Sari's eyes lit up with excitement and so she asked, "Can I come watch?"

Zarron smiled and said, "Sure, maybe you could give Bumblebee some pointers."

He then led the two of them to said conveyer belt. As Bumblebee got on, Zarron walked over to the controls.

"So, what are we going to be doing with this?" Bumblebee asked.

Zarron smirked and said, "We are going to test your reactiveness and how well you can get through at the right speed. I'll start the belt moving at the lowest speed at first so you can get comfortable with this. Then, we are going to have some fun."

Bumblebee nodded and, when Zarron started up the machine, began to walk at a normal pace. After about three minutes of that, Zarron saw that Bumblebee looked comfortable enough so he increased the speed by twenty five percent.

Now Bumblebee was having a few problems keeping a good pace. He would start walking too fast and almost fall off the belt. Zarron sighed inwardly. He thought that the speed problem would be an easy fix and they could be on their way to the more advanced techniques. But, he soon learned that Bumblebee really loved to go fast and the young bot was not going to break out of the habit of going fast easily.

Zarron increased the speed by another twenty five percent and flinched when Bumblebee went flying off the back of the belt. Zarron was glad that Bumblebee had made it this far at least. That meant that he was actually trying to learn this and not back down.

"Good work today Bumblebee." Zarron said, offering a servo to help the young mech up.

Bumblebee smiled and said, "Thanks Zarron. It's just so hard to control my speed."

Zarron nodded and said, "I know, and my job is to help you learn how to." Zarron then glanced at Sari and said, "For practice, I want you and Sari to go out for a drive. Sari, I want you to record how fast he goes where he is and the situation he is in. Give me your report when you are done."

Sari gave him a salute and said, "You got it Zarron. Come on 'Bee, we should stop by Burger Bot."

Zarron laughed as Sari led Bumblebee out of the room. This was going to be fun.

* * *

**Pandimala: So, what was so important that we had to wait until here?**

**Authoress: Well, I finished two chapters and I will be posting another one tonight.**

**All bots: YEAH!**

* * *

**AN: Well, I hoped you all liked. Like I said above, I will be posting the next chapter tonight. This chapter was pretty fun to write. Next chapter will be pretty fun as well. But, I'm not going to spoil anything. Until next time, please read and review. But no flames.**


	13. Workout

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Rodimus: So, when are we going to see more of us bots?**

**Authoress: Well, if you are implying about you Autobots then I can honestly say that it will be very soon.**

**Brawn: How can you promise that?**

**Authoress: Look down.**

**Brawn and Rodimus: Oh.**

* * *

Ch. 13: Workout

As Rodimus walked around the cavern, he couldn't help but think about how the last battle had went. He knew that the only reason that they had won was because they had been the ones to attack the 'Cons and the 'Cons seemed unprepared for the attack. He himself had not done so great against his opponent, who was Starscream. The seeker had kept out-maneuvering him and he only got shots off when the seeker stumbled or he got off an excellent shot with his bow. That fight had told him that they all needed some training in just in case the 'Cons decided to come at them full force and prepared.

"Rodimus, wait up."

Rodimus turned and saw that Pandimala was running up to him. When she got to him, he asked, "Yeah Pandimala?"

"Chaom and I want to get some training in and we were wondering if you and Brawn could be our opponents. Brawn already said sure." Pandimala said.

Rodimus thought about that for a click. He knew that this was the kind of training that they needed. Since Pandimala and Chaom were the size of the 'Cons and were flyers, they would be the best training partners that he could have.

So, he nodded his helm and said, "Sure, just lead the way."

Pandimala smiled and nodded before starting to walk back the way she came with him following close behind. As he walked, Rodimus found himself wondering something. "Hey Pandimala, I was wondering something." Rodimus started.

She turned to him and had a curious look on her faceplate before she asked, "What's that?"

"How did you all survive on your own for all this time without backup supplies coming in from Cybertron?" Rodimus asked. He had been wondering that because his team had to be sent a new supply of energon every thirty solar cycles and they had gone years without it.

Pandimala smiled and said, "Well, we were in stasis for about seventy stellar cycles right after we left Cybertron and crashed here. After that, we woke up and we soon discovered that Cybertronians could ingest the oil that they manufacture here. So, we were able to live well on our own. Though, we have been able to locate some energon deposits here on Earth."

Rodimus raised an optic ridge at that and was about to ask her about the deposits when she opened a door and they walked into an arena. In the middle of the arena, Chaom and Brawn were waiting them.

"So, you bots ready to rumble?" Brawn asked.

Pandimala nodded and said, "You bet. We will do double team so you and Rodimus will be going against Chaom and myself. No weapons, ok?"

Rodimus and Brawn nodded so the two teams went to their side of the sparring area. After about three clicks, Rodimus decided to lead the attack so he launched himself at Pandimala. She jumped to the side and used her momentum to jump back at him and tackle him to the ground. Rodimus knew that he had to get out of her hold so he kicked her off and stood up before jumping back a couple of paces.

"When you attack, try to make them think you are coming from one way but actually attack from another. That will make them more wary of you during the fight and make them less likely to attack you." Pandimala suggested.

Rodimus nodded before he charged at Pandimala again. He knew that she was expecting him to fake her out. But, he had something else in mind. When she went to step forward to run at him, he jumped and flipped over Pandimala. While he was above her, he grabbed the top of her wings and used the momentum to throw her across the room.

Rodimus heard her hiss a little in pain when she landed and, when she got back up, he noticed two things. One was that her right wing was now slightly bent and he noticed that she was smiling. That confused him. "Why are you smiling?" He asked her.

Her smile grew and she said, "Congrats, you did what I wasn't expecting and you took advantage to the fact that my wings are easy to use against me. But, you forgot two things."

He felt panic slowly rise up in his systems as he asked, "What did I forget?"

She continued smiling and said, "Well, first off, you forgot that flyers are very possessive of their wings and they usually turn more deadly when you damage them."

"And the second thing?" Rodimus asked.

Her smile turned to a smirk when she said, "Well, you forgot that there are two of us in here and that the sound of fighting has stopped."

Rodimus' optics widened and he glanced around and was shocked to see Brawn unconscious against the side wall. But as he looked, he couldn't find Chaom. He soon found the mech when he felt a sword press against his neck and he heard Chaom say, "Yield Rodimus."

Rodimus knew that he had lost and said, "I yield." Chaom dropped the sword and Rodimus turned around to him. "How did you move so quietly?"

He smirked and said, "Since I am also a flyer, I have learned how to move quietly around. You might want to remember that if you end up fighting Blitzwing or any of the flyers."

He nodded and turned when he heard pedesteps approaching and he smiled when he saw Pandimala helping Brawn, who was now awake, over to them.

"You can throw a mean punch Chaom." Brawn commented.

Chaom let out a chuckle before saying, "Thank you. And you have more power then you let on. Trust me; these dents didn't come from my own doing."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Well, this was certainly fun. We should definitely do this again sometime."

Rodimus couldn't' agree more.

* * *

Zarron knew that there was something wrong with Bumblebee. He could just feel it. Bumblebee seemed very distracted today and Zarron wanted to know why. Every time that he went to practice balancing, he seemed to think about something and he would fall. Also, whenever Zarron mentioned tracking escaped prisoners, which was a job that many scouts would take, Bumblebee would always flinch and would seem to start to think about something else.

Right now, they were practicing looking at signs that most escaped prisoners would leave while escaping and Bumblebee seemed to be having a really difficult time with it. It wasn't that he couldn't find the signs, which he could; it was just that he would get distracted and leave something behind that could be used to track him.

"Bumblebee, you have to watch the ground where you step. Bots could find your pede prints and follow you. This would be a bad situation if a head hunter was tracking the escapee as well and he wanted the bot dead." Zarron reprimanded when Bumblebee left a very noticeable pede print behind.

Bumblebee at least looked sorry and said, "Sorry Zarron, I'm not really sure what is wrong with me lately."

"Hey, you're the scout trainer, right? Have you seen Rodimus?"

Zarron and Bumblebee turned and watched as Ironhide walked out of the woods towards them. Zarron immediately noticed that both Bumblebee and Ironhide seemed to freeze when they glanced at each other. Zarron now felt like this was an appropriate time to figure out what the problem was between these two. "Bumblebee, Ironhide; I can see that you two have a history and I would like to know what it is. I know it is what is distracting you from your training Bumblebee and I can see it is affecting you as well Ironhide."

Bumblebee and Ironhide shared a glance before Bumblebee said, "Well, we went to the same boot camp. And well, we weren't exactly the best of friends."

Zarron raised an optic ridge and said, "So you two were enemies?"

Ironhide seemed to think about that for a moment before saying, "Well, another bot, Wasp, and I would always pick on 'Bee."

Bumblebee nodded and said, "That was until I accused Wasp of being a Decepticon spy. I had seen him with a data pad with Megatron talking through it so I reported it. We all found out not that long ago that he was actually innocent of that and I had accused an innocent bot."

"And that's about it." Ironhide said.

Zarron noticed that Bumblebee still had more to say so he asked, "Bumblebee, is there something else that you know?"

Bumblebee seemed a little hesitant when he nodded before saying, "Well, as many bots know, he found his way to Earth to exact his revenge on me. Well, he eventually met Blackarachnia and she promised to make him stronger."

"Wait, Elita?" Zarron asked.

Bumblebee nodded but said, "Yeah, but this was back when she was desperate to return to normal. She wanted to be a bot again so bad that she made Wasp into a techno-organic. He calls himself Waspinator now and we haven't seen him since he was changed."

Zarron and Ironhide stared in silence. Zarron knew that this was a hard thing for Bumblebee to admit, especially with Ironhide right here, but the scout-in-training had done it.

He was surprised when Ironhide put a servo on Bumblebee's shoulder and said, "Hey, when we get that medic Balm back, we can ask her to help Wasp return to normal and then, maybe, we could all be friends. Heck, us two can be friends right now. We acted stupid during boot camp and I learned that when I joined Rodimus' team and actually had to face the 'Cons. What do you say Bumblebee? Care to start over as friends?" Ironhide then held out his servo for Bumblebee to shake.

Bumblebee stared at Ironhide's servo for a nano-click before taking it and shaking it and saying, "Sure, because I'm sure that we shouldn't be mad at each other at a time like this."

Zarron smiled and stood up before saying, "Well, I am glad that you two have made up. Bumblebee, I think I am going to give you a couple of days off to relax." He then turned to Ironhide and said, "Ironhide, I watched you fight during the last battle and I must say that I was impressed. Whenever you have some free time, I think you should go and ask Hindsight and Foresight to show you some fighting tricks. Tell them that I recommended that you see them."

Ironhide stared at him in shock before saying, "Thank you Zarron. Maybe in a while, but Bumblebee and I have some more catching up to do."

Zarron couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his faceplate as Ironhide and Bumblebee left. He couldn't have felt more accomplished that day if he had tried.

* * *

Ratchet was feeling terrible. He was worried sick about Balm. He knew more about the young femme then most of the bots on this planet did, beside her close friends and bondmate, and he knew that she did not do well in situations that she had no control over. Plus, she was such a young femme that Ratchet was afraid that she would be mentally scarred by this capture for life, if she escaped that was.

He sighed as he cleaned up the med bay. Ratchet knew that he had to think positive. Balm could be a very determined femme if she wanted to and he knew that she could improvise when needed.

"Ratchet? What's the matter?"

Ratchet turned when he heard Arcee's question and saw that she, Joint, and Red Alert were standing at the door.

"What are you femmes doing here?" Ratchet asked.

Joint let out a laugh and said, "Ratchet, we are all worried about Balm. We thought that you could use some support. We all know how close you were to her. Red here has even heard about how close you got with Balm. Shoot, from what I could see on Cybertron, you treated her like your very own creation."

Red Alert nodded and said, "When I had heard that you had gotten a new apprentice, I was shocked. I thought that Joint here was going to be the last one. What caused you to take her as your apprentice in the first place?"

Ratchet thought back to the first day that he met her and said, "Well, it was when I first met her. I had been called by Anvil when she said that she had a delicate medical emergency that she only trusted me with. When I asked her what the situation was, she said that the training machines had gone haywire and had started firing real rounds at the first day trainees and that two of them had been injured, one critically. I immediately went down there and saw, who I now know as, Optimus and Pandimala injured, Optimus with a hole in his pede and Pandimala with a blaster mark on her wing and a hole very close to her spark."

"But where was Balm?" Red Alert asked.

"Hang on I'm getting to that." Ratchet huffed before saying, "Well, I was shocked to see that one of my patients was a triple changer. I had not seen one since the war. Well, I said this out loud and Balm, bless her spark, she stepped up and said that yes, 'Mala was a triple changer and she needed my help. I then asked her name and she nervously said that it was Balm. I had seen that I would need help with them so I asked Balm to assist me. We then took Optimus and Pandimala to the near-by med center and I started to work on Pandimala. I soon realized that my servos were just a little too big and I wouldn't be able to work inside of Pandimala's injury with both servos so I asked Balm to assist me."

He then took and intake before continuing. "I was very surprised that she had a basic knowledge of medical skills. Usually, the only bots that had any medical knowledge then were the ones who were already receiving medical training but I knew she hadn't received any formal training because it was her first day of boot camp. After we finished the repairs, we sat down and waited for Optimus and 'Mala to wake up. While we were waiting, I commented on her skill and she told me that she had done some studying on medical procedures before boot camp. I asked her why and her response was so fast that she would have given Blurr a run for his credits. I asked her to run that by me again and she said that she wanted to be a medic."

"So?" Arcee encouraged.

"So, I had seen the potential she had to be a great medic and asked her to be my apprentice. I was not expecting the shy femme in front of me to give me an enthusiastic hug while saying her thanks."

"And you didn't get grouchy?" Joint asked with a chuckle.

"No, I did not get 'grouchy', as you put it. I just said that she was welcome and that my designation was Ratchet."

"How good of a student was she?" Red Alert asked.

"Well, she was well behaved and always did what I told her to do, unlike some femme that I know." Ratchet answered, purposely glancing at Joint when he said that.

Joint smiled and said, "I won't deny it. I was a trouble maker. But I did learn a lot at least."

Ratchet nodded and said, "That is something positive I can say about all of my apprentices at least. You all learned the tricks of the trade pretty well." He then picture that Balm had given him before saying, "Balm always was trying to get me to smile for a picture. She said that was her goal while she stayed with me. This is the closest she ever got."

They all then gathered around and looked at the photo. While he was looking, Ratchet was reassured that Balm would be ok.

* * *

As Malice walked through the halls with both Balm's and her energon, she couldn't help but think about the last battle. If only Megatron had delayed the retreat by a couple of clicks, she would have learned which bot was Balm's bondmate. She didn't want to hurt Balm and she knew that Balm would feel pain if her bondmate was hurt, but they didn't fragging know which bot it was. Malice knew that she should ask Balm but she wasn't sure how the young femme would respond. She still remembered how Balm had reacted to her mentioning that she had a bondmate. True, Balm had felt bad about it later, but Malice didn't want to have Balm angry with her again.

"Hey Malice, what are you doing?"

Malice looked behind her when she heard Rumble ask that and she saw both of the twins were standing there. She smiled and said, "I'm going to go give Balm her energon. Do you two want to come?"

The twins nodded and climbed up onto her shoulders, Frenzy on her right and Rumble on her left, before Frenzy said, "And to Balm we go!"

Malice let out a laugh before continuing on her way. "What are you two doing here anyways?" Malice asked them. She had heard that Soundwave was on patrol and she thought that they had gone with him.

"Well, we got that one movie, Nightmare Before Christmas, yesterday and we remembered Balm saying something about it so we wanted to watch it with her." Rumble answered.

"Do you want to watch it with us?" Frenzy asked.

Malice thought about that for a click before nodding and saying, "Sure. Sounds like it should be fun."

They then continued on towards the brig. They were about halfway there when a beeping sound filled the air.

"What's that?" Both Rumble and Frenzy asked at the same time.

It took Malice a click to realize what the beeping sound was. Balm had flipped the switch she had given her.

"Balm." was all Malice said before sprinting at full speed to the brig.

"What's wrong Malice?" Rumble asked while trying to hang on.

"I gave Balm a switch when the new bots arrived that she was to flip if she feared she was about to be tortured." Malice answered.

"But Cyclonas, Oilslick, Strika, and Blackout are with Megatron. So that just leaves…" Frenzy thought out loud.

They all then realized who the bot with balm was and Malice sped up. She would not allow Spittor to hurt Balm. When they arrived to the door to the brig, Malice motioned for the twins to stay silent as she opened the door.

She then crept inside and growled when she heard Spittor say, "Make this easy on yourself femme and tell me what I want to know or I will have to come in there and force the information out of your pretty little voice box."

Malice knew she had to step in so she walked up and said, "Spittor, what are you doing down here? You know that you are not supposed to be here without another bot present."

Spittor looked surprised to see her there and it took him a click to compose himself and say, "I just wanted to meet the femme since she has been in recharge whenever we go through."

"Get out and make sure you have another bot with you next time you want to come down here." Malice growled while pointing to the door.

Spittor narrowed his optics and softly growled before walking out.

As soon as he was gone, Malice swiftly opened the door to Balm's cell and sprinted in before hugging Balm and asking, "Are you alright balm?"

Malice was relieved when Balm nodded and shakily said, "I'm fine. I heard him checking to make sure the coast was clear and I knew that wasn't a good sign so I flipped the switch. I tried to put it away before he came up but I think he saw. He had just said that threat when you came up."

Rumble and Frenzy then jumped down so they were sitting on one of Balm's legs each before Rumble said, "We won't let him do anything to you doc lady."

Frenzy nodded and said, "Yep, we won't let him near you."

Balm smiled at them and picked them both up in a mini group hug and said, "Thanks you two." She then put them down.

Malice figured that she should change the topic so she said, "Well, we were actually on our way down here to see if you wanted to watch the movie, Nightmare Before Christmas?"

Balm smiled a giant smile before saying, "I'd love to! It's one of my favorite movies."

Malice smiled and handed balm her energon. The two of them then leaned against the wall and Rumble hopped onto Balm's lap while Frenzy hopped onto Malice's lap.

Malice then listened as the narrator said, "T'was a long time ago, longer now then it seems. In a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story that you are about to be told, took place in the holiday worlds of old. Now, you've probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't, I'd say it's time you begun."

* * *

**Authoress: So, any remarks on this chapter bots?**

**Chaom: Nope, but I am worried. You usually aren't this docile with chapters unless something really big is coming up.**

**Ultra Magnus: Even I have learned to be wary of times like this around you.**

**Authoress: You bots will just have to wait and see...wait and see.**

* * *

**AN: And finished with this. Now, I hope you all enjoyed this. Like it says above, this chapter may or may not be leading up to a big scene. You will have to find out. I will say this though; the next chapter will not be posted until I finish the one after it. That way, you all won't strangle me for leaving you on the cliff hanger that I know is coming. But, until then though, please read and review. But no flames. **


	14. Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: What took you so long Authoress?**

**Authoress: Well, I had to finish two chapters so I wouldn't leave everyone in suspense. **

**Chaom: Ah, well, we can't have that now, can we?**

* * *

Ch. 14: Calm Before the Storm

Anarcum was pacing in the Estia. His thoughts were plagued by the torn look on his carrier's faceplate when he had appeared with the Dragon Scouter symbol on his chestplate. He wasn't second guessing taking the symbol, but he was trying to think of a way to explain to Malice why he had left the Decepticons and why he was now a part of a team that was an ally of the Autobots. He sighed and shook his helm before sitting at the monitor and watching the feed from the previous battle.

That was, until, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Chaom, Zarron, and Remcy standing there with smiles on their faceplates. "What's up bots?"

"Well, we just realized that we haven't had a mech hang out day so the three of us decided to come down here and get your aft before we went off." Chaom stated.

Anarcum raised and optic ridge before saying, "And just what are we going to be doing?"

Chaom's smile grew into a smirk as he said, "Well, we are going to be doing a little bit of a few things."

Anarcum was now curious. This sounded like a lot of fun and he wanted to be a part of it. "Fine, I'm in. Where are we going first?"

As they made their way to the teleport, Zarron said, "Well, we are going to Africa first."

Now Anarcum knew that this was going to be a lot of fun. So, they got to the teleport and Anarcum waited as they were teleported to the savannahs of Africa. "So, what are we doing here?" Anarcum asked.

Remcy smiled and said, "Well, we decided that we are going to be mudding. There is a mud hole not too far from here and we are going to see who can get out of the middle the quickest."

"Seems like fun." Anarcum stated.

The other three mechs smiled before heading to the location. Once they were there, Anarcum was excited about this when he saw that the mud looked extremely thick.

The four mechs soon got into the middle and stood there for a few clicks before they all started to slowly walk out of the mud. Anarcum could feel the mud dragging him down and he knew that he couldn't stop. So, he pushed forward and sighed in relief when he finally made it to the edge. He pulled himself out and noticed that he was the second one out. Zarron had beaten him. He was surprised though, when Chaom beat Remcy, though not by much. Once the four mechs were out, Anarcum turned to the others and said, "This was fun."

Chaom nodded and said, "Yeah, but we should probably go and find some where we can wash off. I don't want to have Pandimala blowing up at us if she sees us caked in mud."

The others laughed and so the group of mechs went to find a water source. Once they were cleaned off, they called in a teleport back to the Cavern.

* * *

Once the movie was over, which Malice had to admit was pretty good, she said her goodbyes to the others, who were going to be watching a movie called 'Madagascar', before making her way to the throne room. She was still fragging upset with Spittor and she wanted to talk to Megatron about it. She wanted to ask Megatron what could be done to prevent Balm from being exposed to Spittor again. Spittor, she felt, was the only one they had to worry about hurting Balm. But, she also knew that he could damage the trust that they had all been working for and she knew that could not happen. This was the best chance they had ever had of ending the war since before the war started.

When she finally arrived at the throne room doors, she calmed herself down a little before walking in. Inside, she saw Strika, Cyclonas, Oilslick, Blackout, Starscream, Blitzwing, and Megatron.

"Malice, I thought you were going to spend the rest of the solar cycle with Balm." Starscream commented.

Malice nodded and said, "That as the plan until my alarm went off."

"What alarm?" Strika asked.

"When you bots first arrived, I wasn't sure how you would react to Balm so I gave her a switch. She was to flip it only if she feared she was about to be tortured. It would alert either Pandemonium or myself, whichever of us was closest, that she needed our protection."

"So, you said it went off." Megatron stated.

Malice nodded and said, "Yes, and I had the twins with me at the time so we made our way to the brig and we came upon Spittor threatening Balm to tell him what he wanted to know or he would force it out of her voice box. We intervened then and told him to get out. Once we made sure that Balm was ok, we sat with her and watched a movie. After that was done, I came directly here."

Megatron nodded before saying, "Strika,"

Strika stepped forward and said, "Yes Megatron?"

"What can you tell me about Spittor's previous interrogations with previous prisoners?"

She let out a sigh before saying, "The only information that I have learned about that comes from before he became a part of Team Chaar, and what I heard was not very pleasant. Most of the prisoners ended up in the med bay for many solar cycles. He claimed that he just defended himself from the prisoner, but, most of the evidence pointed to torture."

"You said most of the prisoners. Were there other times where something different happened?" Malice asked with concern.

Oilslick nodded and said, "Once, well at least once that I heard of. It was during the major fighting of the war on Cybertron. He had captured a medic while he was working on a field injury. From what I heard, Spittor was asked to find out what the Autobot medical inventory was. Spittor asked but the medic refused to divulge the information. Spittor then used his normal torture but the medic refused to give up the information. Now, as you all know, Spittor has explosive slime that he can coat his target with."

Oilslick paused before saying, "Well, the medic was very injured by this time, barely online, and he was still refusing Spittor. So Spittor decided to try something, different. As we all very well know, the servos of a medic are very sensitive, like wings on a seeker. Well, Spittor spat his explosive slime on both of the medic's servos and, well, both servos exploded. The medic was said to have screamed in agony for several clicks before he finally went to the Well due to energon loss."

Everybot in the room was silent as they processed this. They all now knew how much Balm was at risk with Spittor around. Megatron broke the silence by saying, "Well, we must all lend an optic in watching him. We can't have him ruining this chance. I want everybot to keep an optic on him and don't let him anywhere near Balm alone."

Blitzwing nodded and said, "**Ve cannot let zhat mech ruin zhis opportunity. I vill grind him into scrap before he does. **_And make him sing zhe hokey pokey!_"

Malice smiled when the other bots nodded. She now knew that Balm was going to be safe and secure. These bots wanted the war to end just as much as everyone else.

Megatron standing caused everyone to turn to him as he said, "Call the other Decepticons in here."

* * *

As Megatron waited for the other Decepticons to arrive, he found his thoughts going to the current situation. He knew that they needed to be preparing their processors for the fight at servo but he knew that almost everybot's thoughts were somewhat on the situation with Spittor. He would even admit that his own were not focused on the battle, but on that instead. He couldn't get the entire situation out of his processor. Their goal, for some time, was to finally end the war and try to minimize the amount of damage left behind. How could Spittor risk that? If they weren't in the middle of a delicate mission, he would have punished Spittor for his insubordination and for the fact that he was threatening torture on Balm. He had made it quite clear to all Decepticons, after he escaped the stockades with Starscream's help, that there would be severe consequences for ever torturing a prisoner again.

When the doors opened, Megatron watched as Pandemonium, Starscream, Lugnut, Razor, Lockdown, Shockwave, Soundwave and his symbiots, and Spittor made their way into the room. Megatron had to hold back a growl when he saw Spittor. It would be better for Spittor to think that he was oblivious to the fact that he knew of his threatening of Balm.

"What is the strategy Megatron?" Starscream asked.

Megatron drew his processor out of his thoughts ad looked at all of the bots before saying, "We are going to need to hit them fast. We know what their numbers are and we know that they can outnumber us if given the chance. If more reinforcements arrive, we all must help block them so we can further our goal."

"The only reservations that there is will be Pandimala, Chaom, and Optimus Prime. Pandimala and Chaom will be fought by Malice and Pandemonium. Optimus will be my opponent. The rest of you will fight the others off." Megatron finished.

All of the other bots nodded and Megatron realized that this was the first time since the intense fighting of the war that a large group of Decepticons were going to be fighting as one unit, and, hopefully, cooperate.

Casting a glance at Spittor, Megatron knew that cooperation might not come as easily as he was hoping. He knew that all the bots who knew what he threatened would be on edge around him and it would alter how they fought, which could end up being critical to the battle.

Megatron then stood before saying, "We will leave in ten clicks. Prepare whatever you need and meet at the bay door." All of the bots nodded and they all turned to leave. "Malice, if I could have a few more clicks." Megatron called out to Malice.

Malice nodded and stopped while everyone else left. Once the door closed, Megatron walked up to Malice and said, "Malice, while you fight your creation, watch for any bots acting a little more aggressive than the others. That bot will almost certainly be Balm's mate."

Malice nodded and said, "Of course, but why did you tell me in private?"

Megatron sighed and said, "Because, if Spittor found out who her mate is, it could end catastrophically."

Megatron was relieved when understanding showed in Malice's optics before she said, "I understand. I'll keep an optic open for the signs."

Megatron nodded before saying, "Well, you had better go get ready."

Malice nodded before heading to her room. Megatron was already ready so he walked to the bay doors. About nine clicks later, all of the 'Cons were at the doors and ready to head off. Once the doors opened, they made their way to the location.

No bot noticed Spittor hang back on the ship.

* * *

Betaxia was as bored as can be. She wasn't on monitor duty for once and she was the only bot inside of the Autobot warehouse and she didn't know what to do. She had been watching T.V. for the past four cycles and she had turned it off a few clicks ago. She had hoped that she could think of something to do but nothing had come to her as of yet.

Deciding to just watch some T.V. again, Betaxia reached down to grab the remote but was surprised that it had vanished. She was almost positive that she had left it next to her.

"You looking for this?"

Betaxia turned at Scale's voice and was surprised to see her standing next to Pandimala and Tune, T.V. remote in servo. She smiled before saying, "Hey femmes. What are you all doing here?"

Pandimala put a servo on her hip before saying, "Well, we decided that we are going to have some quality femme hangout time."

Betaxia's smile grew larger and she said, "That sounds awesome. Better than sitting around here, that's for sure." She then stood up and walked over to the other femmes before asking, "So, where are we going anyways?"

Tune threw an arm around Betaxia's shoulders before saying, "Well, we are going to take a walk. When we get where we are going though, that'll be the most fun."

Betaxia nodded so they all set out. While they were walking, Betaxia noticed that they were heading toward the woods. As they entered the woods, Betaxia wondered just what they were planning to do. It seemed as if she was the only one out of the three femmes who didn't have a clue of what was going on. As she thought more about it, Betaxia realized that this was something that they must have set up for her as an official welcome since they hadn't spent much off-duty time together since Anarcum and herself were inducted into the Dragon Scouters.

"Here we are." Pandimala stated, bringing Betaxia out of her thoughts.

Betaxia glanced around and realized that they were by the same forest lake where both she and Anarcum had held Pandimala at sword point and demanded answers about her connection with Anarcum.

"I figured that we could make a different memory here beside our talk" Pandimala stated, somehow reading her mind.

"So, what are we doing here if not demanding answers at sword point?" Betaxia asked in a joking way.

Pandimala, Scale, and Tune then produced four weird poles with hooks on the end. "We got Mr. Sumdac to build us some Cybertronian sized fishing gear so we could try our servos at the human leisure activity known as fishing." Tune answered before holding the extra pole out to her.

Betaxia graciously accepted and the four of the then started to 'fish'. They all soon realized, after four hours of fishing and no bites, why it was called the patience sport. Betaxia let out a sigh and said, "I don't think I can take much more."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Agreed. Let's put these up and find something else to do."

Betaxia and Pandimala then took their poles out of the water and put it in there sub-space before they realized something. "Where are the twins at?" Betaxia asked.

Betaxia let out a gasp when she felt a set of servos push her towards the lake. Knowing it was one of the twins, Betaxia quickly reached behind and latched onto the twin and pulled them into the water with her. The water felt wonderful and when Betaxia returned to the surface, she saw that she had pulled in Tune and 'Mala had pulled in Scale.

"Having fun now?" Scale asked.

Betaxia and Pandimala shared a glance before Pandimala said, "Yes, but I think it is starting to get late. We should probably head back to base."

Betaxia looked at the sun and saw that it was indeed starting to make its way down the sky. It was probably around four or five o'clock now.

Once they were all out of the water, Betaxia was about to say something when she heard the sound of jets, helicopters, and ground vehicles approaching. "Pandimala, call in backup now. We have company." Betaxia said when she caught a glance of the Decepticons in the horizon and, by the looks of it, they were all coming.

Pandimala nodded before calling in a general alarm.

* * *

**Pandimala: Thank Primus that you have the other chapter done already! I would hate to be left off like that.**

**Chaom: Yep, and as soon as you do these updates, you need to sleep Authoress.**

**Authoress: Yes sir.**

* * *

**AN: So, this is going to get interesting. Sorry for taking so long but this chapter was hard to write (the next one actually went quicker, though it was hard to write some parts). I hope you all enjoyed this. Next chapter is coming up soon. Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	15. The Sounds of War

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Thank Primus you didn't wait to post this. I would have offlined without seeing the next part.**

**Betaxia: Yeah, now we aren't going to be kept in suspense.**

**Authoress: *solemnly* Be careful what you wish for.**

**Chaom: That didn't sound good.**

* * *

Ch. 15: The Sounds of War

Megatron was surprised when he only saw four of the strange sect of bots on the battlefield as they approached. But, as the four figures became clear, he saw that there were four femmes. The first two that he could identify, thanks to previous battle reports, were the cyber ninja twins called Scale and Tune. He was saddened when his gaze fell on Betaxia and saw that she had indeed joined the weird sect of 'Bots. He would try to talk to her during the fight when it started.

He felt his spark rise, though, when he finally recognized the fourth member of the group. Pandimala had indeed grown into a fine adult femme. But, as he studied her, he saw the same look he saw in his own reflection since the beginning of the war. It was a look of weariness and depression about the war and when they could finally end it. He figured that only a few, if any, of the bots on her team knew what she felt.

When they all transformed and stood in front of the four femmes, he raised his cannon at them and took a step forward before saying, "Surrender now and we can all leave this unscathed."

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "No, we won't surrender."

"Why not? We clearly have you four outnumbered." Cyclonas asked.

Megatron could see by Pandimala's sudden smirk that she knew something that would change the balance.

"Who said that we were alone?" Pandimala questioned back before the entire Autobot side on Earth suddenly appeared behind her. Scrap, he had forgotten about the teleport system that they now had.

"Surrender now Decepticreeps and we won't have to embarrass you." The big chinned Prime that Megatron was sure was named Sentinel said.

Megatron then watched as Sentinel shoved his way to right behind Pandimala. He heard low growls that wouldn't be audible to the Autobots come from the Decepticons who knew Pandimala when she was sparkling and he barely contained his own growl when Sentinel shoved Pandimala to the side by harshly shoving her right wing and stood at the front.

When a private message appeared in his vision, he opened it and was surprised when she saw that was from Starscream. That was, until, he read it and saw that he was asking for the honor of ripping the Prime to shreds. Megatron sent the affirmative and sent a private message to all the Decepticons saying that Starscream had claim to fight against Sentinel along with his own claim on the one called Optimus before shaking his helm and saying, "We will not surrender. You may outnumber us but we have greater strength."

The fool Sentinel actually had the nerve to growl before taking out his shield and lance and charging at him. He wanted to just fire a shot at the Prime but he held back as Starscream leaped in the Primes path. But, this collision caused every other bot to fall into battle.

As Megatron faced the red and blue Prime, he knew that this would be a grand fight. Bringing out one of his swords, Megatron charged at the Prime that he found was an honorable Cybertronian.

* * *

Balm was slightly worried as she waited in her cell. She knew that her bondmate was probably fighting the Decepticons right now. On the other servo, she was worried about her new friends in the Decepticon army because they were fighting her friends and Sentinel.

At the thought of Sentinel, Balm said a quick prayer to Primus that he wouldn't hurt any of her friends, on either side of the fight. Though, she wouldn't mind if he took a quick jab at Spittor. He was the only reason that she was glad that everyone was fighting. He was one creepy bot that she didn't want to be left alone with ever again. Thinking about her previous experience, Balm pulled out the switch and sighed in relief when she saw that it was still primed to be active.

Balm let out a shriek when the box was suddenly taken from her servo by a, tongue. Following the box with her optics, Balm felt her spark stop in fear when she saw Spittor take the box.

"We won't be needing this box this time. This is going to be just you and me." Spittor said while crushing the box in his servo.

Balm felt the fear rising in her systems as she asked, 'What do you want?"

Balm let out a gasp as shackles suddenly entrapped her wrists and yanked her back so she was standing against the wall with her pedes just resting on the ground. He panic was almost at its peak but she knew that she had to stay strong.

"I am going to be asking you a few questions. You will answer them. If you do not, I'll have to punish you." Balm's optics widened slightly when he waved a dagger in front of her before continuing, "So, if I were you femme, I would cooperate."

He then walked into the cell before stopping right in front and asking, "What are the Autobot battle plans?"

Balm was shocked by this question and stuttered, "I…I don't know."

She winced when Spittor ran the blade across her right shoulder so a small line of energon was coming out.

"What did I say about lying to me femme? Now, what are the Autobot battle plans?" Spittor demanded while dragging the dagger from the point where he had stopped and down her arm.

"I don't know! My team and I haven't been informed of their plans! Please stop!" Balm cried out. The pain was excruciating and she just wanted it to go away.

Luckily for her, Spittor did stop about half way down her arm before putting the dagger away and asking, "Fine, what are the Autobot numbers currently on Earth?"

Balm didn't want to feel the pain again so she quickly counted them all up before saying, "Fourteen, there are fourteen here on Earth."

Balm gasped in pain when Spittor suddenly slapped her across the faceplate and yelled, "What did I say about lying to me femme? Now tell me what the true numbers are!"

Balm was now a mess and she yelled through her crying, "I'm telling you the truth!"

Spittor just shook his helm and said, "So, you are sticking to your lie. Let's take this to the next level. I love doing this to medics."

Balm didn't have time to react when Spittor suddenly spat a strange substance onto her left servo. She stared at it in confusion for a click before she screamed in agony and threw open her bond when the substance exploded.

* * *

Stormfire was barely containing his anger as he fought the giant helicopter mech with Anvil and Boombox. They were the only reason that he hadn't completely lost control. He wanted Balm back desperately but he didn't want any of his comrades hurt by his rage. He had almost lost it when Rodimus' team arrived and Sentinel had said those remarks. That mech was really asking for a really beating and, one of these solar cycles, some bot would deliver it. He was hoping that it would be him. Sentinel had really tested everyone's patience, especially Chaom's, when he had shoved Pandimala's wing right before this fight had started. Stormfire knew that Sentinel was fragged when this was over.

Stormfire had to pull his helm out of his thoughts and dive to the side as the 'Con in front of him suddenly took a swipe at him. Stormfire growled and moved over to Anvil and Boombox before asking, "How are we supposed to beat him? He seems like he is invincible."

Anvil glanced at their opponent before she said, "I don't know. I know that his name is Blackout and he is famous for taking some Supreme units offline during the war…by himself."

Stormfire sighed before saying, "Not helping that confidence meter Anvil." He then turned to Boombox and asked, "What about you? What do you think?"

Boombox was silent for a minute before saying, "We need to find a way to get him off balance. Also, we can use our speed against him since I have noticed that he is slower than we are."

Stormfire thought about that before asking, "So we hit him fast and hard. I think we can do that." He then turned to the helicopter mech before charging at him and locking his fists together. He then slammed his fist into the larger mech's legs, causing said mech to stumble back a few paces. Stormfire then jumped back as the mech took a swipe at him. Frag this was going to be difficult. He was hoping that the mech wouldn't respond so quickly and now he was facing the consequences.

Stormfire suddenly let out a grunt as the mech slammed him in the chest plate and he went flying before a tree stopped his path. Frag that mech had one pit of a punch. He was going to be feeling that one in the morning.

Standing up, Stormfire was about to attack the mech again when a bout of pain traveling down his arm stopped him. Where had that come from? It had felt so severe but he couldn't find anything wrong.

Shaking his helm, Stormfire went to attack the mech again when a searing pain suddenly enveloped his servo and he grasped it. What was wrong with him? He must have crossed some wires and they were affecting his sensors. Well, that was what he thought until the same searing pain traveled through his right servo. His processor was now racing to identify the source of the problem in his programming.

It was only when both of his servos erupted in the pain again that Stormfire connected the dots and he was fragging pissed. They were hurting his Balm, his Balm. She was in pain and sending some of the pain to him because it was too much for her to handle. As the pain continued to flow through his systems though, he didn't feel it. Instead, he felt the rage that he was feeling inside escalating quickly.

"What's wrong Autobot? Did I hit you too hard?" Blackout taunted.

That was when Stormfire felt something snap in his emotions and he lifted his helm to glare at the mech before snarling, "What are you doing to her?"

Blackout seemed confused by this and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Stormfire lost all of his thought processes and he let out a roar of rage before launching at Blackout full force.

* * *

Malice, and every bot on the battle field, paused in their fighting and turned toward the direction that the animalistic roar had come from. She had been trying to find Pandimala to battle her when she had heard the roar. To Malice, it almost sounded like a cyber-dragon had let off a battle cry and it was furious. But, she knew it wasn't possible because cyber-dragons usually avoided organic planets as much as they could.

Malice's optics widened in fear when Blackout suddenly went flying through the middle of the battle field and crashed through a group of trees before groaning and starting to sit up. What sort of being could have the strength to do that to Blackout? He had taken down some of those Supremes and they were larger then Blackout was. Her processor was trying to decide if staying in the fight was a good idea.

She was shocked when, instead of some monster, the Autobot mech from the strange sect known as Stormfire walked out of the woods with a snarl on his face. It was then that she noticed that his optics were almost black in color, save for a little amount of color in the very center. She had never seen that before, but she had heard from Razor what it was. A Cybertronian's optics only turned like that when some bot they had a bond with was in danger and being hurt. Glancing around the field, she didn't see any of the Autobots there look like they were in mortal danger.

When Blackout charged at Stormfire again, Stormfire let out another battle cry before launching at an incredible speed and slamming into Blackout and roaring, "WHERE IS MY MATE? WHERE IS BALM? WHY ARE YOU HURTING HER?"

Malice felt her spark freeze at that, every bot else had returned to their fights but she had heard that. This mech, Stormfire, was Balm's mate. His words then hit her again and her optics widened in shock when she realized something. He asked why they were hurting her but no bot was allowed to hurt her. But, Stormfire was feeling her pain most likely.

A terrible thought then came to her processor and she frantically scanned the battle field. Her spark felt like it shattered in fear and anger when her scans indicated that Spittor was nowhere near the battle.

Wasting no time, Malice opened her bond with her mate before yelling, **Pandemonium, where are you?**

**I'm fighting the bot known as Jazz with the twins. What's happened dear? **Pandemonium asked in worry.

**We need to return to the Nemesis now! Bring the twins if you need to but we need to leave now! Let the others fight! **Malice yelled over the bond in the no arguing way before transforming and flying off toward the Nemesis as fast as she could. She saw that she was getting comm. requests from the upper command of the Decepticons but she couldn't stop to answer. She had to get Balm as soon as possible. She had failed to protect her and that mech was going to pay.

"Malice, tell me what the frag is going on!" Pandemonium yelled as he flew up next to her in his alt mode with the twins sitting in his cockpit.

As the Nemesis came within sight, Malice let out a growl and increased her speed before saying, "Spittor is torturing Balm!"

"How do you know?" Rumble asked.

"Because that mech that sent Blackout flying, Stormfire, yelled out to us demanding where his mate Balm was and why we were hurting her." Malice responded with a low growl directed at Spittor. She was going to tear him apart, leaving no fiber or fiber optic untouched.

She heard a growl come from Pandemonium and the twins before they arrived at the ship and they both landed on top before the twins got out of Pandemonium and they all transformed before Malice picked up the twins and sprinted to the brig. She knew that the twins would want to be there to help so she made sure that they were with her.

Screams of pain coming from Balm was the first thing that Malice heard when the door to the brig opened. Pandemonium was the first of their group inside and he entered Balm's cell. He then let out a snarl as he grabbed Spittor and flung him back against the wall. The two of them then started to fight.

Malice wasted no time in running in with the twins and she shuddered when she saw the state that Balm was in. Her servos were demolished so badly that she couldn't tell that they were even servos and she had energon leaking from many cuts, including some to her face. As Malice approached Balm, she heard the femme mumbling something repeatedly but she couldn't understand.

Malice removed the cuffs binding Balm immediately and helped her to sit on the ground before gathering Balm in a hug before rocking her back and forth. She had been afraid at first that Balm would push her away but she was glad when, instead, Balm leaned into her. Malice felt spark broken when she felt the way that Balm was shuddering and muttering. She should have never had to go through this.

The only thing that brought Malice's attention away from Balm was Pandemonium throwing Spittor into a cell a few cells down from Balm before he walked up to the entrance to Balm's cell and asked in a soft voice, "Is there anything else I can do?"

Malice knew that Balm needed medical attention badly so she nodded and said, "Contact Megatron and tell him to get his aft back here. I don't want what happened told over the comm. so I want you to just tell him, if he asks, that something has happened here and that they all need to get back here. And tell him to have Razor get here as fast as he can and get his med bay prepped." Pandemonium nodded solemnly before walking out of the brig.

Malice then returned her attention back to Balm when she noticed that, even though the femme's frame was still wracking in fear and pain, Balm had slowed her voice down so Malice could understand what Balm was saying. It was very faint but the words were clear.

"I'm not an Autobot. I'm not an Autobot." Was all that Balm was saying as she continued to tremble.

Malice was confused by that and looked at Balm before asking, "What are you talking about Balm? You are an Autobot, aren't you?"

Balm shook her helm emphatically in the negative before saying while rocking herself, "No, we aren't Autobots. We were kicked out. We made our own team. We made 'Mala our leader. We are Dragon Scouters. We aren't Autobots. I'm not an Autobot. Only allies of the Autobots. We are only allies of the Autobots."

Malice was shocked at this news but that was overridden, for now, by her worry for Balm and she sat there, with the twins, holding Balm and telling her that everything was now going to be alright. After about five clicks of sitting there, comforting Balm, Razor called in and said, "Med bay is prepped. What is going on? Who am I healing?"

Malice, deciding not to answer yet, stood up before helping Balm up and starting to guide her to the med bay with the twins following behind with worried looks. Malice panicked when, about half way to the med bay, Balm suddenly collapsed and went into stasis lock. She didn't waste any time and picked up the femme that she thought of as another creation before sprinting to the med bay. When she got inside, Razor let out a gasp and motioned to one of the empty tables before saying, "I am going to need some time to get her stable. What happened?"

Malice glanced at Balm before saying, "Tell you after I tell Megatron. I am guessing that he wants to know why I asked them to retreat."

Malice then left the room, leaving the twins there so they could contact her when Balm woke up, before walking to the throne room. When she got inside, she wasn't surprised that everybot was yelling and asking Megatron why they retreated when they were winning.

When Megatron caught her optic, he stood and said, "Malice, you are a dear friend and I believe that you have a very good reason for asking us to retreat from this fight."

Malice nodded and shakily said, "Yes, I do."

The other bots in the room must have picked up on the anger she was feeling because Blitzwing walked up to her and asked, "Vhat happened Malice?"

Malice felt the anger she felt earlier return to her and she stared directly at Megatron before saying, "Spittor tortured Balm." She then sent everyone a data burst of the scene that they had come upon. Hearing the gasps that went around the room, she knew that everybot was shocked that Spittor did this.

When she glanced up at Megatron, she could see the fury in his optics. She then watched as he turned to Pandemonium and said in a strained, authoritative tone, "Bring him in here; now."

* * *

**Malice: That no good fragging glitch helm from the darkest corner of the pit. I am going to pound him into such thing scrap metal that he will never be used for anything again, except my punching bag.**

**Pandemonium: I hope you will let me have a swing at it every so often dear. That fragger is going to get it when I'm allowed to sink my claws into him.**

**Authoress: This is one of the many times that I wished that I was a Cybertronian and had claws, and acid, and Cosmic Rust.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the next chapter. I hoped you all liked. It was hard for me to write some of the parts but I knew that I needed to. But, I am tired now so I will now request that, while waiting for the next chapter, that you all please read and review. But no flames.**


	16. The Tide's Peak

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: I swear, if this story does not get happier soon, I will be protesting.**

**Authoress: But you are the main character, I can't have this story without you!**

**Chaom: Well, then you better start making it happier or I will be going with her.**

**Authoress: You bots do this just to torture me.**

* * *

Ch. 16: The Tide's Peak

It was the sound of quiet arguing that brought Balm out of recharge. Onlining her optics, Balm glanced to her left and saw that Rumble and Frenzy were arguing about who was going to watch her while the other went to spy on every bot else. Balm smiled at the thought that they cared about her so much that they were arguing.

Swinging her pedes so they were hanging off of the med berth, Balm slowly stood up. She winced at the pain that she felt from her servos when she touched the berth. Glancing at her bandaged servos, she knew that it would be awhile before they could be used at full potential again.

The twins must have finally noticed her because they both ran up to her and hugged her legs before saying, "Doc lady, you're ok!"

Frenzy then took over and said, "Razor wasn't sure that you were going to be ok but we now know you are."

Balm let out a light chuckle before saying, "Yes, I'm fine. A little sore but fine. Where is Malice?" She had wanted the helicopter femme to be there when she woke up so she could talk about what she had said.

"Malice is in the throne room with everybot else telling them why she had them come back pronto." Rumble answered.

Balm went into her thoughts and knew that she should be in there with Malice to add to the account about what happened. Just the thought of what happened made all of her wounds ache.

"Doc lady, are you ok?" Frenzy asked, tapping her leg to get her attention.

She nodded before saying, "I need to be in there with her. I need to tell what happened."

Rumble and Frenzy stared at her in shock before Rumble stated, "You can't go in there Balm!"

Frenzy nodded and said, "No kidding! They are going to be questioning Spittor by the time we get there. He might try to traumatize you more if you go there."

Balm shuddered at that thought. She couldn't think about anything without thinking about the pain and fear that he put in her. While she had been held in Malice's servos, before she was taken to the med bay, she was paralyzed with fear. She had seen flashes of Spittor's malicious faceplate every time she had moved, every time she had felt the twinges of pain from the injuries he had caused her.

But, at the same time, she knew she would have to face him eventually and she didn't want to be in constant fear of him. So, she nodded and said, "I know. But I have to be able to stand up to him eventually or I will never get over the fear that he left on me. I know it will still be there but at least I'll know that I will be able to stand up to it." She then knelt down so she was closer to them and gave them a pleading look before asking, "Please?"

They both looked at each other and sighed before Rumble said, "Fine, but if you get hurt, tell Malice that you forced us to."

Balm nodded and said, "Deal."

* * *

Every single one of the Decepticons in the throne room growled when Pandemonium shoved Spittor inside, which caused Malice to smile. She knew that they all knew what Spittor had risked. He had risked ending this Primus forsaken war just to torture Balm. Every other bot there knew that she was key in ending the war because she could be a negotiator, especially since she now had friends on their side. But, Spittor had put that all in jeopardy when he decided to do what he did.

Megatron was growling to himself when Pandemonium finally shoved Spittor so he was standing in front of him. Standing up, he narrowed his optics at Spittor before saying, "You idiotic frag helm! You risked everything that we have been working up to end the war!"

To Megatron's shock, Spittor actually growled and said, "What are you talking about? This war will go on no matter how many chances that you think that we might have so called 'ending' this war. Plus, why would we want to end it? We hold all the power! The only thing that has stopped us is the Autobot space bridge network and the blasted All-Spark. Otherwise, all those weak Autobots would be molten slag underneath our pedes."

Starscream let out a growl and said, "Watch your glossa Spittor. The ending of this war has only been jeopardized by your sadistic needs. You have no right to say anything like that. The Autobots, while weaker, have more than just those things against us."

Spittor let out a snort of disbelief and said, "What could those pathetic wimps of Autobots have that we don't? Us Decepticons are superior and every way."

"Not in team work you sick piece of scrap."

Every single bot turned toward the back of the room and were all shocked to see that, standing in-between the twins, was Balm. And she did not look to happy. Megatron was surprised that she was even walking around, much less in this room full of her 'enemies', acting like nothing was wrong.

"And obviously can't tell when an Autobot sneaks into a top secret meeting." Balm continued. "Though I will admit that some of you Decepticons are getting better at the team work part but, you Spittor, you are still the mindless mech who uses brute force."

Megatron was impressed. Balm would make a pretty fine Decepticon if she was this fragged off all the time. She was talking in a taking no nonsense tone and she was giving the mother of all glares. That must be a medic thing, the glare, because he had only seen a glare that came near that from Razor.

He was also saddened because he noticed how much she was hiding the pain. Glancing at her servos, he knew that she wouldn't be able to use them for quite some time and, since she was a medic, it would be a hard time for her. But, he could also see that, if she had a mod that replaced them, it would be able to be used though he was pretty sure that she didn't have any.

Spittor's snarl brought him out of his thoughts and every other bot, besides Balm, tensed when Spittor took a step toward her and said, "Seems you have grown some ball bearings, femme, from the last time we were talking. Last time, I had you at my mercy and you were crying to me to stop."

Megatron heard Malice growl and, before he could stop her, if he wanted to, she charged up to Spittor and planted an upper cut on his jaw. A very nice upper cut if he were to judge by the sound of the loud clang that resounded. Pandemonium pulled her away as Spittor went to reorient himself. But, Megatron could see the giant dent that Malice's punch left on his faceplate.

Spittor glared at Pandemonium and Malice before saying, "Pandemonium, maybe you should keep that femme of yours on a tighter leash. She seems to need to be taught a lesson." He then made a dashed for Pandemonium and Malice.

Pandemonium snarled at that and pulled Malice out of the way. Blitzwing went to lunge at him but, he wasn't the one that Spittor should have worried about. The sound of a buzz saw was the only warning that any bot got before said saw suddenly lashed in front of Spittor, slashing said mech's chestplate and forcing him back.

"Stay back if you know what is good for you, you sparkless, pit forsaken creation of glitch." Balm snarled, her buzz saw mod, which none of them knew she even had, still out and spinning replacing her right servo and her standing protectively in front of Malice and Pandemonium.

Megatron knew that Balm knew that they could take care of themselves, but he could see that her optics had grown a few shades darker and that meant that she was in a very protective presence of processor over them, well, more of Malice, but still, the protectiveness was there. If Megatron had not seen these events take place, he would not have believed that the same nervous femme that Malice reported to him was the same one that was now snarling at the mech that had previously tortured her without mercy.

Spittor snarled back at her and said, "You glitch! When did you get a fragging saw?"

Balm smirked and said, "This little thing? Oh, I've had this since I was born. This is my main mod. I just don't use it often because I don't like fighting. But you, Spittor, you have made me angry enough to actually pull it out and use it. And trust me; that is a pretty impressive feat considering that I have to deal with Sentinel on a daily basis."

Spittor suddenly snarled and spat at Balm. Megatron saw that Balm had suddenly lost her fearlessness and she was paralyzed in fear, probably having flashbacks of him torturing her with the same substance. Wasting no time, he sprinted off of his throne and grabbed her before tossing both her and himself out of the way, her landing on top of him. He then watched as the explosive acid went over them.

The sound of metal pounding metal told Megatron that the other 'Cons were doing a fine job of restraining Spittor. Helping Balm up, Megatron turned and saw that Lugnut and Strika were restraining Spittor. Narrowing his optics, Megatron walked up and powered up his fusion cannon before putting it right next to Spittor's helm and saying, "I should blow your processor to bits."

He saw the fear appear in Spittor's optics and knew that he had the mech in his grip. "But, instead, you are here by stripped of the name Decepticon. You are to be known as a traitor to the cause and an enemy to all Decepticons. You will be given a small escape shuttle. From there, you are on your own. You will leave this orbit immediately. If you are not gone in twelve cycles, I will not stop any of my troops from tearing your helm from that pitiful frame of yours. If you return or if any of them run into you out there, they are permitted to offline you immediately." He then kicked Spittor before saying, "Now, get out of my sight."

Lugnut and Strika then released Spittor. Spittor wasted no time in sprinting out of the room. Every bot in the room then let off looks of relief. After a few clicks though, all of the 'Cons in the room turned their attention to Balm, who must have just realized that she was in the room with bots who are supposed to mainly be her worse enemy. Megatron knew that he needed to get the situation under control so he slowly walked up to her and said, "Balm, we are not going to hurt you."

* * *

Balm was still reeling in shock that she had stood up for herself, and Malice, like she did. Her processor was all confused and mixed now. It was like she didn't have control of her actions. But, she couldn't help it, but she felt happy that she had acted like she did. It would help her with her own recovery, which told her that this was going to be a long recovery.

She was snapped out of her reeling by Megatron's statement. It then hit her that she was now surrounded by Decepticons, most of whom she barely even heard of, a few who she had never heard of, and she knew that she stood absolutely no chance against any one of them. Her optics widened in fear and panic started to rise in her systems as this reality set in.

She jumped when a bot stepped in her vision. But, she calmed down when she saw that it was just Malice. Malice walked up to her and placed a servo on her shoulder before saying, "Balm, you are going to be ok. These bots here all care about you. They are not going to hurt you. If you don't trust them, at least trust me and my word. Please?"

Balm studied Malice's optics and could see right away that she was telling the truth. As much as Balm was unwilling to trust any of the bots in this room that she wasn't already trusting, she was willing to trust Malice and maybe, just maybe, learn to trust them. She nodded and hesitantly glanced around the room before looking at Malice and letting off a smile before saying, "Ok," She then glanced at Megatron and let off a week wave before saying, "Hiya."

She was surprised by how nice Megatron's smile looked when he gave her one before nodding and saying, "Hello Balm, can I presume you know who I am?"

Balm nodded hesitantly before saying, "Yes, you're Megatron."

He nodded and said, "Good, do you know who any of my other troops are?"

Balm again nodded before pointing to each one that she knew in order while saying, "I have heard and seen pictures of Starscream, Blitzwing, Malice, Pandemonium, Frenzy, Rumble, Soundwave, Ratbat, Laserbeak, Lockdown, and Lugnut." She then pointed at the other four bots in the room before saying, "But, I haven't heard anything about you all.

The motorcycle mech nodded and said, "Understandable, seeing how young you are and from the fact that we have no record of you in any of the Autobot systems. We only know about you from the fact that you studied under the Autobot Ratchet. I am Oilslick."

The jet mech then stepped forward and said, "I am Cyclonas."

Balm then stared up at the big helicopter mech when he said, "I'm Blackout."

Finally, the femme nodded and said, "And I am Strika and I am the commander of this team of 'Cons. Our team is known as Team Chaar."

Balm nodded her helm courteously before saying, "It is nice to meet you all." She was still really nervous about these bots but at least she knew them by name now and she knew that they wouldn't hurt her, hopefully.

Balm stepped back half a pace in shock when she turned to see Megatron standing a few inches away from her. How did he move so quietly? He seemed to realize that he had scared her because he said, "I am sorry Balm. I didn't mean to startle you."

Balm calmed herself down before nodding and saying, "I'm just a little nervous. I mean, you all are supposed to be vicious protoform eating monsters if I believed everything that the council has spouted out of their mouths over the stellar cycles. But, I know now that is not the case."

Megatron nodded and said, "I am glad that you have allowed us to show you a glimpse of who we truly are. We are not monsters and we just want this war to end. But, I believe that it is time for you to return to your other friends. I will be having Pandemonium contact Pandimala. It will only be her, Chaom, and your bondmate Stormfire there with us."

Balm was a little shocked that they knew who her bondmate was. "How do you know that Stormfire is my bondmate?" She questioned nervously.

Malice's laugh helped her calm down and she stared at the helicopter femme in confusion before Malice said, "Well, it is hard to miss a white seeker mech who is roughly the size of Megatron toss Blackout here across a battle field and into a group of trees. Then he screamed at us, asking why we were hurting his bondmate, you. It was his yelling that told me that you were in trouble in the first place."

Balm let out a laugh and said, "That sounds like Storm. He is never going to let me out without some bot after this. At least, not for a while that is."

Malice let out a chuckle before saying, "Well, hopefully this war will end soon and then we won't have to worry about sides and we can visit as much as we want."

A tap on her shoulder turned Balm's attention to Megatron and he said, "I hope that we will end this war soon. I am tired of all the fighting between bots that care for each other."

Balm nodded in understanding before saying, "I hope so too."

She then watched as Megatron turned to Pandemonium and said, "Contact Pandimala. Tell her to bring Chaom and Stormfire and meet alone at a set of coordinates. You can choose. I don't really care."

Pandemonium nodded and then left before Megatron turned to her and asked, "Are you ready to return to your friends?"

Balm smiled a true smile and said, "I can't wait."

* * *

Pandimala felt conflicted as she paced the deck of the Estia. On one servo, she was fragged off at her creators and the Decepticons. They had hurt Balm. It had taken her a good hour after the battle, at least, to calm Stormfire down enough to bring him back to base without having to worry about him lashing out at someone or him hurting himself. Malice had promised her, to her faceplate, that she would protect Balm.

On the other servo though, she had a feeling that Malice didn't know anything about Balm being attacked during the battle. Plus, with the way that Malice quickly left the battle after Stormfire started his freak out, Pandimala knew that something must have gone wrong.

She wasn't sure which servo to go with, but she knew that she was going to be having some major thought issues until they got Balm back and she knew her condition. This was most likely going to be her foremost thought for quite some time.

"'Mala, you need to relax. I'm sure that your carrier or sire will call us soon and explain everything. Right now, we need you to just relax and clear that wonderful processor of yours so you can think clearly." Chaom said while wrapping his arms around her waist.

Pandimala turned around so she was facing him before saying, "Well, I would love to relax dear, but I have no idea about Balm's status and I am too worried about her to calm down."

Chaom swayed her from side to side a little saying, "Well, maybe we could,"

His sentence was interrupted by a pinging sound coming from the monitor. Sighing, he walked up to it and answered the call before saying, "This is the Estia. Who is this?"

"This is Pandemonium. Is Pandimala there?" Pandemonium's voice rang through their systems.

Pandimala bolted up to the console and said, "Would you care to explain to me about what is going on there? What is Balm's condition sire?"

She heard Pandemonium sigh and say, "She is doing just fine. She's a little sore but she will be fine. Actually, I called because Megatron wants to meet with you, Chaom, and Stormfire with us alone. Do not bring any of the other bots. This is a very, delicate, meeting and we don't want any sort of fight to break out."

Pandimala sighed in frustration. This was not going to be a good situation. She trusted her sire but there was very little trust in her spark for the Decepticons. But, she also knew that her sire knew this and would not ask her this unless it was of the upmost importance.

Putting her right servo on her hip and her left against her helm, she sighed in resignation before saying, "Send the coordinates and we will be there. But, be on guard; I'm not sure if I will be able to control Stormfire. I am pretty sure that Storm will be pretty upset with you all because of Balm."

To her surprise, Pandemonium chuckled and said, "I don't think that he will be upset with us at this meeting. Just make sure you bring him. Here are the coordinates. We will meet you there in ten clicks."

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "Ok, be there in ten. Hope your plan to get out of a possible beating works." She then hung up the line.

"Well, they are lucky that Storm is here in Balm's old room. Otherwise, I don't think that we would be able to go without alerting someone else. And that would not be a good thing." Chaom stated as he put an arm around 'Mala's shoulders.

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "I am going to have a helm ache after this." The two of them then walked out of the room and down the hall toward Balm's old room. 'Mala was dreading this. She was not in the mood for more dents in her wings.

When they arrived at the door, Pandimala sighed before walking into the room. She wasn't too surprised when she heard a growl come from Storm before he said, "Not now Pandimala. I know you are going to try and cheer me up but it isn't going to work. I won't feel any better until Balm is back in my servos."

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "Actually, I'm here because I need you to come on a mission with Chaom and I. I have been asked by the Decepticons to meet with a select group of them in a secluded part of the woods and the specifically asked for you and Chaom to accompany me. I am not sure why but I have a feeling that you're presence there is important to them."

Stormfire then stood up and turned to her before saying, "Fine, I'll go. But if they make one false step, one false step at all, and there will be energon spilled, and it won't be mine." He then walked past her and Chaom toward the transporter. Pandimala shrugged and both her and Chaom followed Storm to the transport and they all got on before they were whisked away to the meeting location.

Pandimala was surprised when she saw that Megatron, Starscream, Pandemonium, and Blitzwing were there. She knew that they were greatly outnumbered and she was now desperately hoping that her sire hadn't lured her into a trap. "I see that you all came over prepared. The four of you against the three of us hardly seems fair."

Megatron shook his helm and said, "Normally, that would be the case. But, after seeing Stormfire there sweep the battlefield with Blackout, I think we are still at a disadvantage."

Chaom nodded and said, "Fair enough. But, what I want to know is why you all asked us three specifically to come out here?"

Starscream nodded and said, "That's a fair question. And the answer to that is a two part one. We wanted you and Pandimala to come out here because we know that you two are level helmed and wouldn't go all guns a blazing here."

Stormfire then stepped forwards and let out a low growl before saying, "And why did you want me to come? You probably know that I am not acting level helmed toward you bots at the click."

Blitzwing nodded and his crazy personality came out before he said, "_Vell, jou vill find out soon Stormfire. And jou vill be very pleased vith zhis meeting._"

Pandimala could see the disbelieving look on Stormfire's faceplate and she knew that this would have to be one pit of a good meeting to change Stormfire's attitude toward them. She then stepped right behind Stormfire to the right and said, "Well, are you all going to keep us in suspense or did you just bring us here to wind us up with anticipation?"

Megatron's genuine smile shocked her and she knew that this meeting was meant to accomplish more than talking. He then looked into the thick part of the woods behind them and said, "Malice, you can both come out now. I think that your friend shouldn't wait any longer."

The three of them tensed as the forest behind the 'Cons started to shake as Malice and whoever was with her started to walk towards them. Well, that was, until, Pandimala saw her carrier walk out with her 'friend'. Standing next to Malice, with bandages wrapped around her servos but a smile on her faceplate, Balm seemed to be beaming with happiness.

Stormfire stared and shocked and said, "Balm."

No one on either side stopped them as they both ran up to each other and kissed in celebration of their reunion. Pandimala's spark was rising from happiness as well because finally, after all of the stressful solar cycles, her problems seemed to be finally gone. Looking back at Megatron, she said, "So, is there any strings attached to Balm's return to us?"

To her surprise, Megatron shook his helm and said, "There is nothing attached. We thought that we could keep Balm safe while she was with us, but that was proven wrong today. We have tried to keep her safe but have realized that was not going to happen. Plus, we knew how much Balm wanted to return to Stormfire here and decided that it was time to reunite them."

While Pandimala was glad that they had given Balm back, she had to ask one question, "If you were so worried about Balm, why did you take her in the first place?"

Megatron nodded and said, "That is a fair question. To answer, I will honestly say that we figured that she would be the one to most likely to trust us sooner and not attack us when we brought her rations of energon. We were correct. But, unlike most Autobots believe, we do not condone torture. Balm can confirm that none of us used torture while talking to her."

"Why did you need her to answer questions?" Chaom asked.

"Because, believe it or not, we would actually like this blasted war to end and all of us to live together in peace like we did before the war. We figured that she would be the most helpful." Starscream answered.

Pandimala raised an optic ridge at that and put it in her memory banks to talk to Chaom about that later. But, now she needed to know what happened during the battle. "Ok, let's say that I believe you about your anti-torture stance. Would you care to explain to me about Balm's injuries and Stormfire's righteous freak out at the battle today?"

Malice let out a low growl and said, "Well, not that long ago, we had a new team come to Earth to join us. They are called Team Chaar. We weren't too worried about most of them, but there was one that we were concerned about. His name is Spittor. He seemed to want to torture Balm but knew that we would stop him. He tried the previous solar cycle. Luckily, I had given Balm a panic switch and I got there before anything could be done."

"So, why didn't that happen today?" Chaom questioned.

Pandemonium sighed and said, "Well, unfortunately, Spittor isn't as dumb as he is sadistic. He destroyed the switch before Balm could use it to alert us. The only thing that alerted us was Stormfire tossing Blackout today. When we got there, we got him away from Balm."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Thank you, then. I believe that we should return to our bases now. Our team is going to be contacting us for our normal report in. We will tell them, for now, that we found Balm here in the middle of the woods."

Megatron nodded and Pandimala took that as the sign to activate the transporter. So, she and Chaom walked up to Stormfire and Balm, who had finally separated, and activated it before returning back to the Estia. When they arrived, they contacted the others and told them that they had recovered Balm. Pandimala then sent Balm and Stormfire back so they could talk to the others while Chaom and she went to her old room to talk about these events.

* * *

Once the door was closed, Pandimala sat down on the berth and said, "I don't know what to do Chaom."

Chaom raised an optic ridge and sat next to her. He had been worried about Pandimala ever since they had made an alliance between the Autobots and themselves. Before, they were all happy and nothing could have changed that. Now it was one stressful situation after the other. Today's events would help to calm them down but they would still have to deal with Tana's recovery.

"Do about what sweetspark?" Chaom asked in concern.

Pandimala sighed and said, "About what Megatron said. He said he wanted to end the war. That's what we all want. But, I doubt that we could ever get the council to agree to have a sit and talk with Megatron and us. I just want this fragging war to end." She leaned into him as she said this last part.

He smiled and brought her closer to him. He knew that she was very conflicted in the war since the mech that she had looked up as a father figure almost her entire youngling hood was the commander of the Autobot side but her actual creators were Decepticons. "I know love, but we will figure out a way. This war will be over soon and we will be able to finally start that family that we have been wanting."

He felt Pandimala's happiness come through their bond and he was happy that he could bring more joy into her spark today. They had discussed starting a family just before the bots arrived. But, when they did, Pandimala said that it would be best for them to wait until they could raise their creations in a war free environment. He had to agree with her but he knew that they both desperately wanted sparklings.

"Thanks darling. I needed that." Pandimala said before placing a small kiss on his lips and smiling before lying down on the berth.

Chaom laid down next to her and brushed his fingertips over her wings before asking, "And why are we laying her darling? Not that I mind at all."

She turned so she was facing him and smiled before saying, "I want this day to end on a good note. So I figured that I would lay down for recharge early tonight. And I am hoping that you will join me love."

Chaom smiled and kissed the side of her faceplate before saying, "Anything for you, my darling." He was soon in a blissful recharge.

* * *

**Stormfire: Definitely the best chapter you have had in a while Authoress. And thank you for returning Balm to me.**

**Authoress: You're welcome Storm. I wasn't going to kill her. I need her and I love her like a sister.**

**Pandimala: Next, we need you to make Sentinel nicer.**

**Authoress: 'Mala, not even Primus could do that. There is no hope for that mech.**

**Chaom: Drat.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is another update. Yeah! Balm and Storm are finally back together! But, I wonder what is going to happen next? Well, I'm not telling so please read and review. But no flames please.**


	17. The Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs, though it would be nice to own more.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Well, it is nice that we are getting more attention.**

**Chaom: Yeah, now we can get through this so much quicker.**

**Authoress: I'm not sure that you all want me to.**

* * *

Ch. 17: The Beginning of the End

Malice felt weird. She was so used to having Balm on the ship that it had become a part of her daily routine to stop by the brig. That was where she was now, holding two cubes of energon. She sighed as she stared at the empty cell. She was happy that Balm was back with her bond mate, but, at the same time, she was upset that she wouldn't be able to relax with the femme. Every time that she had come, with each talk, she had grown her hope that, after the war, they would all be able to live together in peace.

"Balm, I hope you are happy." Malice whispered with a smile before walking out of the med bay. She was surprised when she ran into the twins. Well, that was until she saw that they were holding a movie. They must still be getting over Balm being gone too. "You mechs too, huh?"

They nodded and Frenzy said, "I miss doc lady already. It feels, off, without her here."

Rumble nodded and said, "Yeah, but at least she is happy."

Malice nodded and said, "Hey, I'm going to the throne room. You two want to come with?"

Rumble and Frenzy both nodded before she picked them up and put them on her shoulders before continuing to walk.

"So, what are you all talking about today?" Rumble asked as they got in front of the doors.

"We are going to talk about was to finally end this blasted war." Malice stated. She then walked inside and saw Pandemonium standing to Megatron's left and Starscream standing to his right while Blitzwing and Strika were standing in front of him on the sides. Malice walked up and stood in between Blitzwing and Strika before saying, "I'm sorry I'm late. I still have the habit to stop by the brig."

Megatron looked at her with understanding optics before saying, "That's alright Malice. We hadn't discussed much anyways."

Malice nodded and listened as Starscream asked, "So, now what are we going to do about ending the war since we returned Balm?"

Malice felt as if she had been hit by Blackout across the faceplate. That question had reminded her about when she was comforting Balm after Spittor's attack. She had completely forgotten about what Balm had muttered until now. "Frag! I'm such an idiot!" Malice exclaimed while faceplate palming herself.

All of the 'Cons stared at her in shock until Frenzy and Rumble both faceplate palmed themselves and Rumble said, "How could we forget that?"

Megatron tapped his pede impatiently before saying, "I think the rest of us would like to know what you all forgot to tell us."

Malice looked at Megatron and said, "Well, while we were waiting for you all to come back from the battle yesterday, Balm was muttering something. We tried to understand her, but we couldn't at first. Then, she slowed down and I honestly thought that Spittor forced her to say what she did."

"And vhat vas zhat Malice?" Blitzwing asked.

"She said that she wasn't an Autobot." Malice answered.

"**Vhat?"** Blitzwing yelled in shock.

Malice nodded and said, "That's what I thought at first too. But, she said that's she wasn't. None of the ones with that strange symbol are. They were kicked out some time ago. They then made their own faction and made Pandimala their leader."

Megatron's optics were wide with shock as he asked, "What is this faction called?"

"They're called the Dragon Scouters." Frenzy answered.

Megatron nodded and said, "We need to rethink our strategy."

* * *

The first thing that Balm noticed when she woke up was that there was a strong, protective set of arms wrapped around her waist. Smiling, she looked at the servos attached and saw that she was with Stormfire, she was home. She had been in that brig for so long that she had forgotten that Megatron had allowed her to return back to the Scouters.

Balm turned around so she was facing Stormfire. He looked so peaceful and happy. She then trailed one of her servos around the edge of his right wing. Stormfire let out a small grunt before onlining his optics and smiling when he stared into hers.

"Good morning dear." Balm said with a smile.

Stormfire allowed his smile to grow a little larger before putting a wake up kiss on Balms lips and saying, "Good morning love. Primus I missed your wakeups."

Balm nodded and said, "I missed waking up to you dear."

Stormfire then sat up and looked at her before asking, "Balm, if you don't want to talk about this I won't press it, but can you tell me what happened up there?"

Balm hesitated before nodding and saying, "Sure, it wasn't so bad after the first few days. But, for those first few days, I was terrified. I had all of those stories that the council filled our helms with about how vicious and evil the 'Cons were, that I was hesitant to talk to any of them. But Malice was persistent."

"Malice is the helicopter one, right?" Stormfire asked.

Balm nodded and said, "Yeah, she was the one who would always bring me my energon rations and talk with me about my past on Cybertron. I only snapped at her once when she figured out that I had a bondmate and I got protective. And this was even after she told me about hers, including his name. I felt bad afterwards and we became close friends."

"Did you make friends with any of the other 'Cons?" Stormfire asked.

Balm smiled and let out a laugh before saying, "Well, I think that I could call almost all of them my 'friends', well, more acquaintances, but there were two more. Frenzy and Rumble."

"How did you start talking to them?" Stormfire questioned.

Balm laughed and said, "Well, one day, Malice was on patrol and hadn't brought me my daily energon. I wasn't too worried about it at first until it started to get late and my warning signs started to flash. It was when I was about to go in to emergency stasis when Frenzy and Rumble walked in. Frenzy had a helm wound and, long story short, they asked me to fix him. Eventually I did. They then returned the favor by getting me some energon." Balm then noticed that it was already late in the morning so she got out of the berth and stretched before saying, "Come on Storm! I want to go for a drive!"

Stormfire let out a chuckle as he got out of the berth and walked over her and said, "Yes dear, anything for you."

Balm smiled and locked her right arm in Storm's left before walking out.

* * *

When Ratchet heard the news that Balm had been found, he wasted no time in asking for a teleport to the Cavern to personally giving Balm an examination. He had missed her greatly and he was glad that he was back. Luckily, Pandimala had arranged for this examination.

Walking into the Dragon Scouter med bay, Ratchet was relieved to see Balm resting on the berth. He walked up to her and said, "You had us all worried Balm. Are you alright?"

Balm let out a chuckle and said, "Sorry Ratchet for making you worry. And yes, I am fine now. Their medic did a pretty good job at patching me up."

Ratchet huffed and said, "I'll be the judge of that femme." But, he was glad to see her smile again. She was like his own creation. He hated seeing her hurt and wanted to make sure for himself that she would be fine.

Taking off the bandages, he winced in shock when he saw the extent of the damage. But, as he studied her servos more, he could see that they were already starting to show the signs of the proper healing and he knew that the Decepticon medic had done a fine job in repairing her.

When he accidently brushed them, he jumped when she let out a hiss of pain and pulled it back. Glancing at Balm with an apologetic look, Ratchet said, "I'm so sorry Balm. I didn't mean to hit them."

He could never get over how Balm could just keep smiling. But, she did and said, "It's ok Ratch. They're just a little over sensitive right now."

"I should have been more careful Balm. I can do better than this. You shouldn't have to go through more pain," Ratchet was saying before he was suddenly kicked in the faceplate.

Balm's optics showed that they were upset as she said, "Ratchet, stop saying that! It was an accident! You are doing exceptionally well."

"But I hurt you Balm." Ratchet said.

Ratchet took a step back when Balm growled and said, "So what? Stormfire's been hurting them all day, on accident of course, and he is my bondmate for Primus' sake Ratchet! You are even doing better than he was! You are the best medic in known existence and I wouldn't trust any medic more to fix me then you!"

Ratchet stared at her in shock and, smiled a little, before saying, "I'm sorry Balm. Thank you for those words."

Balm smiled and settled back down before saying, "I wouldn't be saying them if they weren't true Ratchet. You have always been an awesome mentor and friend."

Ratchet really missed Balm. But, he had to finish his exam. So, he ran all the scans that he could think of. Thankfully though, everything was well repaired and her servos would heal just fine. Sighing, he put away his equipment and said, "That medic up there did a pretty good job. You can go see Stormfire now."

Balm smiled at him and gave him a hug while saying, "Thank you Ratchet, and I missed you greatly." She then waved back to him before going off to see Stormfire.

Ratchet sat on the berth that Balm was on and stared at the door before smiling. The days that were going to come were going to be wonderful.

* * *

Megatron knew that this might be a really good chance of ending the war. A separate faction could be able to negotiate between the Autobots and Decepticons to set about a lasting peace. But, they needed to figure out how to get contact with just this separate faction to discuss this with them.

"What are we going to do about this? We don't know anything about this faction?" Starscream stated.

Malice shook her helm and said, "That's not true. We know that they are willing to meet with us and they are willing to trust us. Otherwise, we would have had a fight when we went to return Balm. Also, we know that the Autobots forced their creation because they kicked the original members off of Cybertron and out of the Autobots."

Blitzing nodded his helm and said, "Not only zhat, but ve also know zhat zhey are villing to trust us because of Balm."

Megatron knew that these were all valid points but he already knew all of this. He needed to know how the frag they were going to actually approach these bots and arrange this. "While those are valid points, we need to know how to approach them. I don't want them to start to hate us like the Autobots do. We need a solid plan."

"Why don't we use Balm again?" Starscream asked.

"What do you mean Starscream? We can't capture her again. They would be furious with us if we did." Megatron asked.

"I didn't mean like that all. What I meant was that, since Malice and the twins grew such a close connection with Balm, they could meet up with her and her bondmate, if he so chooses, in secret and just hang out and maybe talk about ending the war." Starscream explained.

Malice's smile told Megatron that she really wanted to see Balm again. Of course, he knew that Malice looked to Balm as another creation so it only made sense. "I would love to see Balm again and I am sure that the twins would love to join me. We have been missing Balm already and this would help."

Megatron thought about this plan. It would allow them contact with the Dragon Scouters and it would also allow for them to talk about an alliance. Plus, this would allow them to maybe get another sympathizer on the Dragon Scouter side, if Stormfire would agree to come. This could actually work if it played out right. So, he nodded and said, "I think this could work. Malice, contact the twins and tell them about this. Then, contact Balm and Stormfire and ask if they would like to meet with you three. I believe that this could be the beginning of the end and we cannot allow this chance to pass us by. You are all dismissed now."

As they all left, Megatron relaxed on his throne. Smiling, he felt like he was finally going to be able to end this blasted war and live on Cybertron in peace with everyone.

* * *

**Chaom: Pandimala dear, Authoress has me worried.**

**Pandimala: Me too dear. I hate it when she says that she has something planned. **

**Balm: Yeah, last time she said that, she had someone get hurt.**

**Remcy: Well, hopefully we will find out soon.**

* * *

**AN: Hey everyone! This is going to get very exciting very soon. I'm not going to say if it is going to be in a good way or a bad way. You will have to find that out. But, something is going to happen soon that is going to change the very center of Cybertronian way of life as it is now. Well, please read and review. But no flames.**


	18. Just Another Sunrise

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: *nervously* Um, Authoress only does a double update when she is going to do something large with it.**

**Chaom: *gulps* I know, and I am afraid that I am not going to like it.**

**Remcy: *preparing for the end* Well, we will have to brave through it together. **

* * *

Ch. 18: Just Another Sunrise

Stormfire smiled as he held Balm in his lap. Pandimala had assigned the two of them monitor duty on the Estia and he knew that she did that so they could spend more time alone. He really appreciated that, especially since he knew that she was stressing out about the war and everything that was going on with that. Pandimala was really a true friend and he knew that they were lucky to have her as a leader.

"Hey Storm, how would you react if the war ended?" Balm asked, looking at him.

Stormfire stared at her for a minute, thinking before saying, "Well, I guess I would live a normal life with you dear. Since I've been neutral for most of this war, I am pretty sure that I would be able to forgive." He was wondering why she asked that though so he asked, "Why dear?"

Balm fidgeted in his arms a little before saying, "Well, it is just, when I was with the 'Cons, they were talking about trying to find a way to end the war. They are just as tired as we all are from it."

"Then why haven't they?" Stormfire asked, genuinely curious.

"I think it is because they know that most of the council won't listen to them without something forcing them too. But, they aren't sure what to do." Balm answered.

Stormfire was about to ask something else when the communicator went off so he checked the number. He was nervous because it was a blocked number. He knew that it could be something important and he wasn't sure that he should answer it. But, a wave of curiosity coming from Balm's side of the bond swayed him to answer it. "This is the Estia, who is this?"

"This is Malice. Is Balm there?"

Stormfire was surprised that the Decepticon femme was calling. He never thought that she would risk calling.

"Hey Malice! How are you doing?" Balm said in an excited voice that warmed his spark. He knew that Malice and Balm had become friends and he knew that Balm had been missing Malice.

He heard Malice laugh and say, "I'm doing fine Balm, how are you?"

Balm smiled before saying, "I'm doing as well as I can be Malice. I'm here with Storm right now."

"Why are you calling?" Stormfire asked, curiosity in his voice. He didn't think that Malice would have risked calling unless there was something that she wanted.

"Well," Malice started, "The twins and I were wondering if you and Stormfire wanted to come and hang out."

Stormfire raised an optic ridge at that and said, "Isn't that a little risky? What if Megatron finds out that you are hanging out with allies of the Autobots?"

He was even more confused when Malice let out a laugh and said, "We don't need to worry about Megatron, he has already given his approval for this visit. The only bots that we need to worry about are any from your side that would be offended by us spending time together."

Stormfire was floored when he heard that. Megatron had actually given his approval? Well, he knew that they could leave pretty easily since they were the only ones on the Estia so he finally let out a smile and said, "We will be there soon Malice. All we need you to do is send the coordinates."

He was happy when he saw Balm's surprised look that told him that she was excited that he was allowing it.

"Here you go. We will be there immediately." Malice said before cutting the connection.

As the two of them stood up, Balm gave him a kiss and hugged him before he said, "Thank you so much Storm!"

Stormfire put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug before chuckling and saying, "Anything for you dear. Plus, I know that Malice and the twins were nice to you from your report so I don't mind us spending a day with them." He smiled as Balm's optics sparkled in excitement.

* * *

When they arrived at the coordinates, Malice was worried when she saw neither Balm nor Stormfire. Did Stormfire change his mind at the last minute? She sighed in relief and smiled when Stormfire and Balm suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Malice!" Balm called out in excitement before running up and giving her a hug.

Malice laughed and hugged Balm back before saying, "Hey Balm. Hope you've been ok. We have all missed you."

"Hey, what about us doc lady? Didn't you miss us?" Frenzy and Rumble asked.

Malice let out another laugh when Balm bent down and picked them up before trapping them in a giant hug and saying, "Of course I missed you two!"

Stormfire, having finally joined them, said with a smile, "Balm dear, would you mind giving me an introduction?"

Malice was happy when Balm smiled at him and wrapped her servos around his waist before saying, "Malice, Frenzy, Rumble; this is my bondmate Stormfire. Stormfire; this is Malice, Frenzy, and Rumble."

Stormfire nodded his helm toward each of them and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you three. Balm has already told me how you all helped her while she was in your care."

Malice raised an optic ridge when Frenzy and Rumble exchanged mischievous looks before they looked up at Stormfire and Rumble said, "Did she say anything about how much fun we had?"

Stormfire raised an optic ridge in confusion at that and looked like he was about to ask about that when the twins suddenly tackled him and started to tickle him. This of course, caused both her and Balm to burst into laughter as Stormfire was mercilessly tickled by the twins.

"Balm darling, can you give me a servo?" Stormfire asked in between laughs.

Malice let out a loud laugh and almost fell to the ground when Balm shook her helm and said while laughing, "Sorry Storm. This is their own initiation ritual. Plus, I had to go through it so I think you can too."

Malice stood with Balm as the twins tickled Storm for a few more minutes before showing him mercy.

"Gosh, you 'Cons really are merciless." Stormfire stated in between breaths.

They all then sat on the ground in a circle before Stormfire studied her and asked, "Ok, this was fun, but why else did you want us out here? I can see in your optics that this was to accomplish more than hanging out."

Malice's optics widened in shock for a nano click. How did he figure that out? She had been trying so hard to not let her expressions show. But, she knew that she should tell them so she said, "You are right. While we really did want to hang out, we also came here to try and accomplish something."

"And what was that?" Balm asked.

"We want to figure out a way to end the war." Rumble said.

"Yeah, and since you bots aren't Autobots, we figured that you guys could be a buffer to allow us to discuss peace with them." Frenzy stated.

Balm nodded and said, "I see. Well, you aren't the only ones who have thought of that. Pandimala has been trying to figure out that same question ever since you guys gave me back. She's been trying to hide it, but Stormfire, Chaom, and I have seen the stress that she is putting herself through trying to figure it out."

Malice then looked at Stormfire when he nodded and said, "Yeah, and it doesn't help that Sentinel is being an aft. He is causing so much trouble that I am surprised that he hasn't been torn to bits yet, though I did see that Starscream got in a few good gashes."

Malice smiled at that last statement and said, "Yeah, we were all furious when Sentinel shoved Pandimala before that last battle since most of us knew her when she was a sparkling. He sent in a request to Megatron for permission to tear Sentinel to bits."

She smiled with shock when Stormfire let out a deep and loud laugh at that before saying, "Sentinel, he is really going to get himself slagged one of these solar cycles."

They all then sat there in silence for a few clicks before Frenzy asked, "So, who wants to play hide-n-seek?"

* * *

If there was one thing that Tana was happy about, it was that she was finally out of the blasted med center. She had enjoyed laying around for the first solar cycle, but that had soon gotten boring. The best part was when Alphego and Shrike would come in and get help. But, still, nothing beat finally being able to walk around now.

"So, Tana dear, what do you want to do?" Blackbit asked.

Tana glanced at him and the other Guardians, who had come because the medics had told them that she was getting out today, and said, "Is there training going on at the boot camp?"

Hinge let out a chuckle and said, "Should have known that you would want to go to the training grounds as soon as you got out. Well, if we hurry, we can catch the end. We were there when the medics called us about you and they were getting close to being done."

Tana open her optics wide before saying, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get down there now!"

She heard Blackbit laugh as she grabbed his servo and pulled him along toward the training grounds. She had been cooped up at the med center for too long and she wanted to get some fighting in. As she pulled them down the streets of Iacon, Tana smiled as the thought about how much they all cared about her crept back into her helm. She knew that they cared deeply for her, like she did for them, but it was always nice to see that caring in action.

"Tana, if you want to get to the training grounds quickly, then please stop yanking my servo or we are going to have to go back to the med center to get it fixed." Blackbit stated with a smile.

Tana quickly let go of his servo and ran ahead before saying, "Come on! They are going to be done and gone if we keep at this pace."

"Well, then let's race dear." Blackbit stated before running ahead of the jogging Tana.

Tana let out a laugh and ran to catch up with him before saying, "Fine, let's run."

The two of them then started to sprint to the training grounds. Tana hadn't felt this excited and full of energy in a while. It was nice to feel the wind rush around her armor. It was like she was cooling off by running.

When they arrived, with Tana just pulling ahead at the end, she groaned when she saw that they had just finished training. She cast a look at Blackbit before saying, "We didn't make it!" She was really upset that she didn't get to watch them train.

"True, but if Alphego and Shrike are up to it, then we can train with them." Blackbit comforted.

Tana smiled and leaned into him before saying, "Well, then what are we waiting for dear?"

Blackbit let out a chuckle before putting his arm around her shoulders as all of them made their way to the actual grounds. When they arrived, Tana saw that Shrike and Alphego were walking toward them.

"Tana, you're out of the med center!" Shrike stated as both her and Alphego walked up to them.

Tana nodded and smiled before saying, "Yeah, and I tried to get here in time to see you all train, but I got all of these slowpoke mechs that I can't lose."

Shrike let out a laugh and said, "Well, if you all wouldn't mind, could you give us some training?"

Tana beamed at that and said, "We would love to! I've been dying to get some training in. So, what do you want to work on?"

"How about some group fighting?" Alphego suggested hesitantly.

Tana smiled at Alphego. He reminded her a lot of Balm. He seemed to be nervous about saying anything, but she knew that they could change that with time and friendship. But, unlike Balm, he was destined, most likely, to become a soldier. She knew that they would definitely have to help him with his nervousness if they didn't want him to be pushed around when he got assigned a team.

"Sounds good to us." Chem stated. "Why don't we have Tana and Shrike against Alphego and I? Hinge and Blackbit will watch and see if there is anything that needs fixed."

Tana nodded and said, "Can't wait. And we can use this field for training. I don't think that Kappo will mind."

Hinge then stepped forward and said, "Ok then. Tana and Shrike will be starting on the west side of the field while Chem and Alphego will be on the east. You all have thirty clicks to disable the other team. Good luck to you all." The four of them nodded before splitting up into their teams and going to their sections.

* * *

Shrike was excited for this. She had done so much research into the Guardians and she looked up to Tana, a lot. And now she was actually training with her. This was a dream come true.

"Ok, so, we are going to have to make sure that we stay in constant contact. Now, they are going to be expecting us to split up to find them easier. But, we are going to do just the opposite, in a way." Tana said.

Shrike was now confused and raised an optic ridge at that before asking, "What do you mean, 'in a way'?"

Tana laughed and pulled her closer before saying, "We are going to make them think that we split up. You are going to be 'scouting' up ahead and I know that Chem is going to have Alphego attack you as a fake front before sneaking behind you. I will be there to knock Chem away."

"And how will Chem not know what you are planning now?" Shrike asked.

Tana smirked at that and said, "This is new."

Shrike smirked back and said, "Well, just don't forget that Alphego can clone himself. They could use that and try to make it look like he is talking to me."

Tana must have forgotten about that because she said, "Scrap. What will we do about that?"

Shrike smirked and said, "Well, I do know how to fight. I could attack Alphego. If it is fake, it will lose focus and dissipate. But, if it is real, he will defend himself."

Tana nodded and said, "Good thinking Shrike. Now, let's go show those mechs why they shouldn't ever underestimate femmes."

Shrike smiled before the two of them headed off. She felt the excitement of pre battle coursing through her circuits. This was going to be one of the best times that she ever had. Ever since she was little, she would always listen as her sire told her stories about the legendary Guardians and how they had been a major advantage during the war. Plus, when Tana was brought in, she was in awe that a femme could actually rise in the ranks of the warriors and take her place.

That had inspired her to become a warrior herself. When she told her creators this, she thought that they would be upset because they thought that they wanted her to be one of those intelligence officers like they were. But, when she said her goal, they had immediately signed her up for boot camp. She couldn't have been happier, or so she thought. When the Guardians actually came to their first day and watched them, Shrike felt like that was the best moment of her existence. But, it got even better when Tana, her idol, said that all of the Guardians were willing to help both her and Alphego train.

Shrike paused when she heard the sound of movement coming from in front of her. This must be it. Sure enough, she watched as Alphego stepped out of the shadows. She waited for a click to see if he would start the attack. When he didn't, she charged at him. When she jumped, she smirked when she saw that he dodged. That meant that they were most likely planning on ambushing her in the first place.

The sound of a blaster charging behind her told her that Chem was behind her, just like Tana had predicted. She turned around and, sure enough, Chem was there. "Nice try Shrike, but I know how Tana plans. She shouldn't have split up with you."

Shrike saw some movement behind Chem. Studying it carefully, she let out a quick, small smirk when she saw Tana get into position. When Tana nodded, Shrike knew she was ready so she turned to Chem and let a large smirk before saying, "Why Chem, how so quick you are to assume."

His look of confusion was the last thing that Shrike saw before Tana tackled him to the side and started to fight him. Turning around, Shrike lashed out at Alphego while she could. After a few clicks, Shrike smiled as she had Alphego restrained on the ground with a pair of stasis cuffs. When she glanced over at Tana, Shrike saw that she had restrained Chem as well.

"Well, we surrender." Chem said, "Good job femmes."

Tana nodded and both of them let the mechs go and headed back to the others. When they got there, Blackbit nudged Hinge and said, "Hand it over Hinge."

Shrike raised and optic ridge in confusion when he said that but immediately changed that to a smile when she watched Hinge hand over a couple of credits. "You always know who is going to win Blackbit." Hinge stated with a smirk.

Blackbit put the credits in his subspace and said, "Well, I know that when anybot goes against Tana, they will probably not win."

Tana let out a laugh before kissing Blackbit. She then turned to Shrike and Alphego before saying, "Hey, we are all going down to Slapjack's later and we would like it if you two came."

Shrike looked at Alphego, who nodded, before nodding herself and saying, "That would be awesome, thanks Tana." She then walked out with Alphego. This had to be one of the best solar cycles ever.

* * *

Remcy was nervous as his call went through to Alpha Trion. He was finally able to commandeer the communication system at the Cavern to get a call to Cybertron. The bot who picked up had said that he would get Alpha Trion right away, and that had been ten clicks ago. Remcy sighed out of impatience. Communication must have gone lax on Cybertron after they left. When he was there, they could get a message to the other side of the planet in two clicks and the other bot could get on even sooner.

"Remcy, he'll pick up. Just be patient and relax." Whirlwind said as she sat down next to him.

Remcy smiled at her and asked, "I thought that you were supposed to be on patrol?"

She smirked back at him and said, "Hindsight and Foresight owed me a favor so they said that they would take over. I knew that you were going to be calling Alpha Trion and I want to say hi."

Remcy shook his head and said, "What am I going to do with you?"

She smirked at him and said, "Well, I'll let you figure that out."

Remcy let out a laugh and was about to say something when Alpha Trion came on the screen with Botanica, Breakdown, Chromia, and Knockout. When Alpha Trion saw them, he smiled and said, "Hey Remcy, how have you all been lately?"

Remcy smiled and said, "Well, it's been a little hectic here, but I am calling on unofficial official business."

Alpha Trion raised an optic ridge at that and said, "Remcy, you know that I hate it when you speak in riddles like that. What is wrong?"

Remcy let out a sigh and said, "Well, I was doing some digging in the Autobot mainframe and all of the council's records when I found something that is puzzling me."

"What is it?" Botanica asked.

"Well, I was exploring the council mainframe when I found a file called Operation: IOE and I am having some problems getting into it. These are the strongest firewalls I have ever encountered and I was wondering if you knew anything about it." Remcy stated.

Remcy was disappointed when Alpha Trion shook his helm and said, "I haven't even heard about it. And you say it was in the council's database? When was it supposed to be activated?"

Remcy sighed and said, "From the little information that I have gathered, it was supposed to be activated back in the golden age. You and Dragstrip were on the council then."

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "I remember being on the council back then, but whenever I try to bring back memories from then, I seem to get blocked and none of our medics here have ever been able to solve the problem."

Remcy furrowed his brows in confusion and said, "But, Cybertronians don't lose memories. We forget but we can have medics access them if we need them to. But you are saying that you can't access them?"

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "And from what I have researched on the subject, none of the bots from that era remember what happened."

Chromia then stepped forward and said, "Well, what can we do about that?"

Knockout decided to join in on the talk and said, "Well, we can do some investigating here of bots who were around back then and see if they remember anything. But, what are you going to be doing Remcy?"

Remcy sighed and said, "Well, I'm going to keep going at this file and see if I can crack it. I will admit that this is the hardest file that I have ever tried to crack. But I am pretty sure that I will be able to do it."

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "Good luck Remcy."

Breakdown then stepped forward and asked, "Hey, how is that search for your medic going?"

Whirlwind smiled at that and said, "Well, actually, she was found in the woods just the other solar cycle. Apparently, she got away from the 'Cons when they were distracted."

Alpha Trion smiled and said, "That's good. Well, we had better go. May Primus be with you."

Remcy nodded and said, "May Primus be with you."

The connection then went off. As soon as it did, Remcy activated their base monitor settings and started to sift through them.

"What are you doing Rem?" Whirlwind asked.

"Well, I'm going to continue trying to crack that slagging file. I want to know what is up with all of this mystery and confusion." Remcy answered.

Whirlwind nodded and said, "Well, then, let's get started." The two of them then set to work on the file.

* * *

**Pandimala: Well, this is not making me feel any better. She didn't do anything this chapter. That means that she is planning something really big for later.**

**Chaom: Yep, and we are most likely going to be right in the middle of it.**

**Whirlwind: Well, while I would love to worry about Authoress, I'm really curious about what is up with that fragging file.**

**Remcy: No kidding. This must be the emperor of all secrets to be this heavily protected.**

* * *

**AN: Well, this was a quick update. I hope you all enjoyed this. The next chapters are going to get really interesting. And don't worry, the Autobots will be coming more into play in the upcoming chapters and we will be seeing more Sentinel. *laughs evilly* Oh, this will be so much fun. Well, please read and review. But please no flames. **


	19. Pax Cybertronia

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Chaom: Well, I hope that none of us get hurt this chapter.**

**Pandimala: Yeah, I don't want to go through grief...again.**

**Balm: Seriously bots! Authoress is listening!**

**Authoress: *chuckles evilly***

* * *

Ch. 19: Pax Cybertronia

Pandimala paced in the main meeting room of the Estia. With her were Chaom, Stormfire, Balm, Zarron, and Beam. When Balm came back to the ship and told her that she had met up with Malice and the twins, she had been happy that at least some bots from different factions could get along and that Stormfire wasn't holding a grudge. But, when they had told her that Malice had said that she wanted to end the war, Pandimala had called Chaom, Zarron, and Beam to the meeting room and they had been trying to figure out how they could possibly end the war.

"Pandimala, I don't know how we can possibly do this without risking our alliance with the Autobots." Zarron stated.

Pandimala let out a low growl and said, "I know that Zarron. I need ways that we can, not ways we can't. I am sick and tired of all of this fighting and energon spilled by this fragging war."

Chaom nodded and said, "I know dear, but what can we do? How are we supposed to get these two sides, who have been fighting for hundreds of stellar cycles, to actually cooperate with each other and live in peace?"

Pandimala paced the room some more, thinking. She really just wanted to use the space bridge here on Earth and beam to Cybertron before marching up to the council and dragging their afts back to Earth and force them to talk to the 'Cons and not let them leave until an agreement could be made. But, unfortunately, she knew that would cause the hatred for the 'Cons to grow plus add a special hate to the Scouters for making this come together in the first place.

"Wait, what if we are looking at this from the wrong perspective?" Beam suggested.

Pandimala turned to her quickly and rose and optic ridge before asking, "What do you mean Beam?"

Beam fidgeted a little before saying, "Well, we have been looking at this in the view of how we would be able to get the Autobots to meet with the 'Cons."

Chaom raised an optic ridge and asked, "What, are you suggesting trying to get the 'Cons to Cybertron? How are we supposed to do that if we can't get the 'Bots to agree to even allow them on Cybertron?"

Beam growled and said, "I'm just thinking Chaom, the ideas are just going to come out."

But, Pandimala was thinking about what Beam suggested. What if they were looking at this the wrong way? But, she was trying to think of how they could possibly make the 'Bots talk to the 'Cons without causing faction wide hate. This made her think of when they had made their alliance with the 'Bots. They had been lucky that they had been able to talk to them. If it had been up to Dragstrip, they would have been called an enemy and would have had the council declare war on the Scouters.

That was when it hit Pandimala. The answer was so simple that she felt like an idiot for not thinking of it earlier. It was actually so simple that she suddenly burst out into laughter.

The others jumped and stared at her in shock before Zarron said, "I think the pressure has finally gotten to Pandimala."

She calmed down enough to say, "I haven't lost it yet Zarron. Actually, the opposite has happened I have finally found it. I found how we are going to accomplish this. It was so simple, I am surprised that we didn't think of it sooner."

Chaom shook his helm and asked, "Would you care to fill us in dear?"

Pandimala smiled at them and said, "Our alliance with the 'Bots. That's how we are going to do it."

Stormfire raised an optic ridge at that and asked, "And how are we going to use our alliance to make them end the war?"

Pandimala glanced at Chaom and saw a look of realization show on his faceplate before he laughed and said, "Of course, the part about alliances!"

The other bots in the room then showed the look of realization before Zarron said, "The part where they have to accept any alliance that we make and they must pardon our new allies of any crime that they have committed and allow them back onto Cybertron!"

Pandimala nodded before saying, "Let's contact Megatron and set up a meeting place." She then walked up to the console before sending the communication request to the Decepticons.

* * *

Megatron huffed in annoyance as he paced around his throne room. He really wanted to end this war but they hadn't been able to figure out a way. Right now, he was with Pandemonium, Malice, Rumble, Frenzy, Blitzwing, Strika, and Starscream and they were trying to figure out how to end this blasted war. When Malice and the twins had returned, he had been happy to hear that Pandimala and the Scouters were also trying to figure out a way to end the war. But, he had been disappointed to hear that they had not come up with anything as of yet.

"How are we supposed to do this? The Autobots hate us and they will be very reluctant to join in an alliance with us." Starscream stated.

Megatron nodded and said, "I know, but I am hoping that our friends, the Dragon Scouters, will be able to figure something out, because we have been trying for stellar cycles and we can't seem to think of anything."

Just then, the communicator when off and Megatron was confused about this. Why would someone be calling now? He had told the others not to disturb them unless it was an emergency. He walked over to the communicator and sad, "What is it?"

"Sorry to disturb you Megatron." Shockwave started, "But, we are receiving a call from the Dragon Scouters."

Megatron felt his optics widen in shock. He then shook his helm and said, "Patch them through to in here."

"Right away Megatron." Shockwave stated.

The screen then went black for a few clicks before a picture started to appear on the screen. He was surprised that Pandimala was smiling on her side when it finally cleared up. On their side, he could see Chaom, Stormfire, Zarron, the femme known as Beam, and Balm as well.

"Is there something that we can do for you Pandimala?" Pandemonium asked.

Balm suddenly jumped in excitement and said, "We figured it out!"

Megatron was confused by that but, Malice must have known because she stepped forward and said in excited shock, "Really? How?"

Pandimala smiled and said, "We will explain once you let us up there. It will be all of us that you see here."

Megatron was confused but nodded and said, "Ok, here are the coordinates for the ship. We are currently stopped right now so it should be easy for you to arrive." Pandimala then nodded before the connection went dark.

Megatron then turned to Malice and asked, "Ok, so what is it that they have figured out?"

Malice beamed a smile and said, "They have figured out how to end the war!"

All the bots stared at her in shock. How had they done it? Megatron was also excited about this. He hadn't been a free bot on Cybertron for stellar cycles and he would be able to finally do so after so long if this worked.

They all jumped when the six Scouters suddenly popped into the room. That teleport system was really accurate. Megatron knew he had to greet them so he said, "Pandimala, it is an honor to have you finally here in front of me without us being in a battle situation."

Pandimala smiled and walked up to him before saying, "It is an honor to be here under these circumstances Megatron."

Blitzwing then stepped forward and asked, "So how did jou figure out how to end zhe var?"

Chaom smiled and stepped next to Pandimala before saying, "Well, it was quite simple on our part and we should have seen it earlier. When we made our alliance with the Autobots, we made it a stipulation that they must respect any alliance that we make and lift the barring from Cybertron that they had on our allies. So, we wish to become an ally of the Decepticons."

Megatron was shocked by how simple this was. The Autobots had actually made this a very simple process. So, he nodded and said, "What are your stipulations?"

Pandimala smiled and said, "We will give you the same stipulations that we gave the Autobots. We will not be under you jurisdictional control and we only take orders from other Scouters. If we make another ally, you must respect that alliance and we will do the same to your ally. If a crime is committed against a Scouter by an Decepticon, or an ally of the Decepticons, they will be tried and punished by us and the same would go the other way around."

Zarron then came up and asked, "What are your stipulations?"

Megatron thought about that for a click before saying, "We will want access to your intelligence and we wish to be able to keep our symbols as a reminder of this war so we will never forget and never fall back into that madness."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Agreed. Are our terms acceptable to you?"

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes."

The two leaders then shook servos. All of the bots in the room stared as they did. This handshake was symbolizing the end of the war. The two leaders shook servos for a few more nano-clicks before Pandimala said, "Beam, Zarron; contact the other Scouters and tell them the good news, but do not let them tell any of the Autobots yet. I want to tell the council and Ultra Magnus as well as our troops on Cybertron first."

The two of them nodded before going on their communicators. Megatron turned his attention to Pandimala as she said to him, "Megatron, may I borrow your communicator to contact Cybertron since you have a tachyon transmitter?"

Megatron nodded and motioned toward the communicator before saying, "Of course." He then turned to Strika and Starscream and said, "I want you two to tell the other Decepticons on this ship the good news. But, I will make the general announcement once we talk with Ultra Magnus and the council." Starscream and Strika nodded before getting on their communicators.

Megatron then walked over to the console as Pandimala typed in the frequency to contact Cybertron. "So, who are we contacting?" Megatron asked her. He knew that, most of the time, you had to contact a lower party first.

"Well," Pandimala started, "I am contacting Ultra Magnus directly on the line that he gave me. He should get a private message automatically sent to him saying that I am calling him. Only the two of us use this line so he will know it is me right away. I also told him to bring the Guardians there on Cybertron with him."

Megatron nodded and both leaders stood there and waited for Ultra Magnus.

* * *

Ultra Magnus was having a blast. The four Guardians had been called by Slapjack to come to the bar and have the celebration that they had planned before Tana had been put in the med center. But, this time, they had asked him there. Hinge had convinced him to come down for a while and relax with them.

"So, Blackbit and the others had just come to Earth and we had recently been bonded. As a gift, I wanted to take him to my special car wash. But, it was going to be a surprise. When we got there though, he freaked out when they put the cold water on him for the rinse and he transformed. Scared the poor boy to death when he did too. I had to use my soliform and help calm him down and reassure him that Blackbit was not going to blow his brains out." Tana said with a laugh.

Blackbit let out a huff and said, "Well, it WAS freezing cold."

Everyone there then burst out in laughter. Said bots there were Slap, Lavana, Neuro, Pinefrost, Suncrest, Radar, the four Guardians, Shrike, Alphego, and himself of course.

Slapjack hit his servo against Blackbit's back before saying, "It's ok Blackbit, I'm sure that it is just because you are SO sensitive."

That of course, got another round of laughter out of the bots. This was the best time he had had in a long time. Ultra Magnus had been so busy with the war as of late that he hadn't had a chance to relax until now. He was wishing that the war would end but he figured that Megatron wouldn't be surrendering anytime soon and he knew that the council wouldn't agree with anything but surrender from Megatron unless they didn't have a choice, which would be unlikely.

A private message distracted him and he was surprised that it was from Pandimala telling him to use their special frequency and to bring the Guardians only with him. He wondered why she needed to talk to him. Maybe something had happened with Balm. Last that he heard, she was still a captive of the Decepticons.

Standing up, he glanced at everybot and said, "I am sorry to interrupt, but I just got a private message from Pandimala wanting me to answer a call on the private line that we set up and she has requested just the Guardians to be there with me."

Tana was the first to stand and nod before saying, "Ok, it might have something to do with Balm. I hope she is ok."

Hinge then glanced at the other bots before saying, "Sorry to leave so soon bots. Maybe another time?"

The others nodded and Radar said, "Sure bots. We understand. We are still at war after all."

Ultra Magnus nodded and so he led the Guardians to his office and he accessed his main communication screen and terminal. Seeing that the call had already been put through, Ultra Magnus accepted it and watched as the picture cleared. When it did, they all jumped in shock at what they saw. Standing next to Pandimala, was Megatron.

"Pandimala, why is Megatron next to you?" Chem asked in shock.

Everybot was confused when Pandimala let out a laugh and said, "Well, I am on his ship so it only makes sense that he is here. Plus, he is part of the reason that I am calling Ultra Magnus."

"And what is the reason you are calling Pandimala?" Ultra Magnus asked curiously. He was studying the video and trying to see if there was any sign that Pandimala was there against her will but he couldn't sense any of that. All he could read was that she was happy and excited about something.

Pandimala turned to Megatron and asked, "Do you want to say the good news or should I?"

Megatron smiled and said, "You can take it Pandimala. It might be more believable coming from you."

Everyone jumped when Tana slammed her fist down on the table and said, "Will one of you two please just tell us what the frag this news is?"

Ultra Magnus just didn't know what to make of it when Megatron let out a laugh at that and said to Pandimala, "Well, your friend is sure touchy."

He didn't think his processor could take much more when Pandimala playfully punched Megatron's shoulder and said, "Hey, you can't honestly think that she is more touchy then 'Screamer?"

"I HEARD THAT PANDIMALA!" Ultra Magnus heard Starscream yell in the background.

Shaking her helm and smiling, Pandimala said, "Well, I thought I would be the first to give you the good news." She then paused for effect before saying, "Technically, the war is now over."

Ultra Magnus stared in shock and asked, "How? The Decepticons and Autobots haven't even talked about terms."

Pandimala smirked and said, "Well, the answer to that is simple. When you Autobots made your alliance with us, you agreed to honor any alliance that we made and lift the banishment from Cybertron off of them. So, I made the Decepticons our allies now so the Autobots must now honor this alliance and lift the banishment from Cybertron that is on them so they can come and talk terms."

Ultra Magnus was so pleased that he could barely think straight. He had wanted the war over for so long but the council had always been a problem and now they made their own trap and don't have a choice in the matter. It might not have been the best way, but it was probably the only way that they were going to get the entire council to listen. "I see, well, then that is a good thing. I am guessing that you will want to come right away and discuss peace terms with the council and I so you can come through the space bridge there are Earth. If any of the Autobots there get in your way Pandimala, deal with them your own way and inform me later." Ultra Magnus said.

Pandimala nodded and smiled before saying, "Ok, and I'll leave telling the council about us coming to you. You had better get over there quickly because, since most of us are flyers we will be at the space bridge soon." She then closed the connection.

Ultra Magnus groaned when he realized that he got to tell the council about the 'Cons coming. This was not going to be fun, not at all. This had to be payback from when he made Pandimala talk to the council about their alliance. Scrap, that femme was good.

* * *

When they hung up, Pandimala was relieved that Ultra Magnus had been so cooperative. Now, if only the council would act half as cooperative, this would be easy. But, she wasn't hoping for anything near that. She knew that she was in for one major helm ache when this got over with. But, for now, they had to get to Cybertron.

"Well, who are you bringing because I don't think the council will like it if all of you 'Cons come." Chaom asked.

Megatron nodded and said, "I know, and I already know who I am bringing." He then turned to his troops and said, "Malice, Pandemonium, Starscream, and Blitzwing; you four will be coming with me to Cybertron."

They nodded and Pandimala turned to her team and said, "Chaom, Balm, Zarron, and Stormfire; you will be with me. Beam, I need you to stay here and take charge until I send word about what has happened. We will try to get to you as soon as possible."

Chaom nodded and said, "Ok. This should be interesting."

Pandimala smiled and watched as Beam disappeared. She knew that the others would be bombarding her with questions and Pandimala was glad that she was going to have to deal with it. She then turned to Megatron and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Megatron nodded and said, "After stellar cycles of being off of Cybertron, I am glad that I am finally going to be home."

Pandimala smiled before they all followed Megatron to the top deck of the ship. When they got outside, Megatron turned to her and said, "Ok, I'll let you lead the way because I don't want to get shot at today." He then turned to Balm and Zarron before asking, "How are they getting there?"

Stormfire smiled before saying, "Well, I didn't bond with the prettiest femme in any universe to just stare at her."

Balm shuffled her feet and smiled in embarrassment at that. Chaom then stepped forward and said, "And I will be taking Zarron since I am pretty sure that Pandimala wouldn't want to carry him since she has to look official while leading you all to the space bridge."

Megatron nodded before they all launched into the air and headed toward Sumdac tower. As they were going, Pandimala thought about all that they had gone through to get to this point. All of the struggles and hardships that they all had faced, the happiness and joy that they had experienced, and the once in a life time experiences that would never have happened without any of those other experiences were key in coming to today.

As they leveled out above Sumdac tower, Pandimala saw that Optimus, Elita, Prowl, and Jazz were up there. Some movement then caught her optic and she groaned when she saw that Sentinel was there as well. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with him. When they all got close enough to the floor, they all transformed and stood before the Autobots.

"I knew you fragging Dragon Scouters were traitors and now I have proof!" Sentinel yelled.

Chaom face palmed himself and said, "Sentinel, shut the frag up. We are here with the Decepticons because the war is, technically, over. Ultra Magnus has given us permission to bring the Decepticons to Cybertron so both they and the council, with Ultra Magnus, and us can discuss the official peace terms."

Pandimala could see Sentinel fuming as Optimus nodded and went to the space bridge controls. She knew that Sentinel wasn't too keen on having his worst enemies next to him and not being able to fight them. Of course, she was enjoying his obvious torture. This was another form of retribution that she was going to extract from him.

When the space bridge opened, she nodded toward the others before turning to the Autobots there and saying, "You bots are welcome to come back with us. You can be on Cybertron when history is made." She then proceeded to lead them toward the bridge.

She let out a growl when Sentinel stepped in front of their procession with his shield and lance out and his battle mask active before saying, "I am not allowing you to take those Deceptiscum through that space bridge onto Cybertron without them being in stasis cuffs."

Pandimala was not going to let Sentinel risk the ending of the war so she let out a snarl before running at him and knocking his shield and lance out of his servos and wrapped her digits around his neck before saying, "Sentinel, I have been patient with you up until now. I have dealt with your incessant pride and, honestly, I am sick and tired of you opening your big mouth and nothing useful coming out of it." She then tightened her grip around his neck and growled in a menacingly voice, "I will not allow you to threaten the peace that is so close that I can practically feel it and I will NOT allow you to jeopardize this chance no matter what I have to do to accomplish that. So, you are not going to get in our way and you are going to keep your fragging trap shut or I will force you to. Now, get out of our way!" She then shoved him to the side and took a step forward.

Sentinel let out a low growl and walked back up to her while saying, "Now wait here, Pandi', I am not going to let you threaten,"

Pandimala snapped. With a snarl, she clenched her servo in a fist before turning and slamming said servo into Sentinel's faceplate. She smirked as she heard the echo of her hit as he stumbled back. Pandimala then watched as his optics faded and Sentinel fell into stasis lock. Pandimala let out a snort of satisfaction before turning to the others and saying, "He'll be fine, in a few cycles. Now, we have to get to Cybertron."

She then turned toward the space bridge and shuddered in anticipation before walking through. When she got through to the other side, she smiled as she gazed at the sight before her optics. She was finally home.

She was on Cybertron.

* * *

**Chaom: I take back what I said in the beginning. I am so glad that someone got hurt.**

**Pandimala: *smirks* And I am glad that I was able to inflict the pain.**

**Megatron: Well, I will admit that was the most wonderful thing that could have happened except for the war ending.**

**Balm: When did you get here Megatron?**

* * *

**AN: So, I have decided to actually post this now and leave you all wondering what is going to happen when we see the council. Trust me, it will be hilarious. I only send a reminder to take everything that I have written in the past into account when you try to guess what happens in the future. Until I next post, please read and review. But no flames. As you can see, Pandimala is in a hitting mood and I would not want to be on the end of her wrath.**


	20. The Decision

**Disclaimer: I only own my Ocs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Oh, why can't we just have the top leaders make the alliance official and then we would all be happy?**

**Megatron: Because the Autobot side has it that way and we can't change it without starting another war.**

**Starscream: Yeah, and I for one would hate it if our leadership was like that. It would be terrible.**

**Chaom: I second the motion 'Screamer!**

**Starscream: THE NAME IS NOT 'SCREAMER!**

* * *

Ch. 20: The Decision

Pandimala couldn't have felt any happier. She was home. So many stellar cycles had passed since she had last seen her home planet that she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to recognize it. But, she was relieved when it still felt like home and most of it looked like it had back when she was there. She turned to Megatron and saw that he was smiling. Leaning toward him, she asked, "So, how is it like to be back on Cybertron?"

He looked at her and Pandimala could see the joy in his optics as he said, "There are no words that could ever describe the joyful feelings that are flowing through my circuits."

Pandimala smiled and said, "I can imagine."

The sound of engines had her turning toward the main entrance to the space bridge area and she was relieved to see Ultra Magnus driving up with the Scouters. When they got in front of them, they all transformed before Ultra Magnus said, "Pandimala, Megatron; it is a pleasure that you are here."

"The feelings are mutual Ultra Magnus." Megatron responded.

Ultra Magnus then turned to Pandimala before saying, "You know femme; you are getting too good at paying back a bot. I think I gave most of the council spark attacks when I told them that Megatron was coming with some Decepticons and some of you Scouters to discuss peace terms. Plus, I am pretty sure that Dragstrip looked like he was going to purge his tanks from shock."

Pandimala had to laugh at that. She would have loved to see that look. Plus, she had done this to get back at Ultra Magnus. So, she smirked and said, "Hey, I have Decepticon coding. You should know that I return favors, whether they are good or bad."

Blitzwing let out a laugh and said, "_Jes, I remember vhen she vas a little sparkling. She vould alvays paint Starscream's vings vhen he vould tickle hers._"

Pandimala's smile grew and she smiled innocently at Ultra Magnus before saying, "See, it has always been an instinct."

He shook his helm and said, "Well, as much as I like these talks, we must go to the council so we can officially, and not just technically, end the war."

All of the bots there nodded so Ultra Magnus led them down the streets of Iacon to Fortress Maximus. As they walked there, Pandimala couldn't help but smirk at the confused looks on the Autobots' faceplates that they passed. Some of the ones who she remembered looked confused because they probably still thought that she was offline and that Megatron was walking free in the streets with others in the upper command. The younger bots just looked shocked that the Decepticons were freely walking in the streets.

When they finally arrived at the Fortress, Pandimala couldn't hold back a shudder. She still remembered what happened the last time she was here. Malice must have noticed because she walked up next to her and asked, "What's the matter Pandimala?"

Pandimala stared at the building in front of them before saying, "My last memory here wasn't very pleasant."

Malice raised an optic ridge and asked, "What happened?"

Ultra Magnus must have been listening too because he said, "The last time she was here was when she was about to be promoted to Prime and she was instead called a traitor because of her heritage and she was stripped of her Autobot title and banished from Cybertron."

Pandimala held back another shiver before saying, "At least I will be making a new memory that will hopefully be better."

* * *

They then continued into Fortress Maximus. After walking down the halls, Pandimala was nervous when they finally got to the doors to the council room. Taking in a deep breath, a habit she had picked up on Earth, she followed Ultra Magnus inside. The bots who entered, since not all of them could be in there, were Megatron, Starscream, Malice, Pandemonium, Pandimala, Chaom, Balm, Stormfire, Ultra Magnus, and the council. She then followed the others until the Dragon Scouters were led into one pulpit and the Decepticons were led into another. Ultra Magnus then took his seat.

"Members of the council," Ultra Magnus started, "As I have already informed you, our alliance with the Dragon Scouters is now being called into play. They have made an alliance with the Decepticons and, according to the terms which you helped to set up, we are bound to respect the alliance and remove any banishment from Cybertron from the bots. In short, we must end the war and come to peace with the Decepticons if we are going to honor the alliance with the Dragon Scouters."

Dragstrip growled and said, "We were duped."

Pandimala raised an optic ridge and asked, "Do you not want the continued shed of Cybertronian energon to stop?"

Dragstrip looked surprised when she said this and sank lower into his seat. Alpha Trion then stood up and turned to Megatron before asking, "Megatron, if we indeed make peace with you bots, what would your terms with us be?"

Megatron stood a little straighter and said, "I ask that the Decepticons be given control of the cities of Kaon and Vos, which were Decepticon cities before and during the war. Also, the Decepticons would rule themselves as a separate people but always be able to travel to other places on Cybertron. The same would go if any Autobot or Dragon Scouter wished to come to Kaon and Vos, the gates would be always open. The same rules which you made with the Dragon Scouters about the rules would apply to us as well. If a Decepticon injures an Autobot or Dragon Scouter, they will be tried by the law of the bot that they offended. If a Decepticon is injured by an Autobot or Dragon Scouter, they will be tried by our laws. We will have open intelligence policies between our factions. Finally, we will always be ready to defend both Autobot and Dragon Scouter if they are ever attacked by a hostile force, as long as they come defend us if we are ever attacked."

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "I do not see a problem with your terms. Plus, you covered most of our terms." He then turned to Pandimala and said, "Is there anything that the Dragon Scouters wish to amend about their agreement with us?"

Pandimala thought about that for a click before saying, "Just one thing. We Dragon Scouters would be our own ruling party and we would follow our own laws."

Alpha Trion nodded and said, "I find those tolerable." He then turned to the council and said, "Members of the council. We must now vote on this peace. Please enter your vote in the kiosk in front of you."

Pandimala waited in eager anticipation. This would be a close call. She knew that the council would be at odds with this. She already knew that Dragstrip would be against it but she was hoping that it would turn out like their alliance did. She kept her digits crossed behind her back as each council member gave the signal that they had voted. All of the bots then turned to the screen as the results came up.

Pandimala let out a relieved sigh when the board showed that the vote had gone in their favor; nine to three. Alpha Trion smiled and said, "It is now official. The war is over."

* * *

Pandimala then stood and said, "I believe we should announce this to the public immediately. We don't want any problems so soon in the alliance."

Ultra Magnus nodded and stood up before saying, "Pandimala, Megatron, and I will give the announcement on a deep galaxy communicator so all of our troops will be told. If the rest of you will join the crowd, that would be appreciated."

Chaom shot Pandimala a glance and she knew what he wanted so she said, "Chaom, I want you to stay with Zarron and meet up with the Guardians. Stay together until I contact you all. This is going to be a very, very long solar cycle."

Chaom nodded and all of the bots left so it was just Ultra Magnus, Pandimala, and Megatron. The three leaders looked at each other for a click before Ultra Magnus let out a sigh and said, "Well, I never pictured that this day would come: At least, not in my reign as Magnus."

Megatron nodded and said, "I was just as sure as you were that I would never see it. I was sure that you all would have either captured or killed me first." He then turned and smiled at Pandimala before saying, "Of course, who can ever guess what is going to happen when Pandimala is around?"

Pandimala let out a laugh and said, "Ok, are we going to give that speech or are we going to stand around her and thinking about this?"

Megatron nodded and looked Ultra Magnus before saying, "Lead the way."

Ultra Magnus nodded before he led Pandimala and Megatron through the halls of the Fortress. Pandimala was curious because, in all of her times of being in this building, she had never been in this part that they were walking through now. This area had been reserved for bots that were ranked Prime or above and, of course, she had never actually gotten that high in the Autobot rankings. But, she didn't feel bad about not getting the rank anymore. If she had, none of this would be happening.

When they walked outside on the dais, Pandimala grew nervous when she saw the vast crowd of bots that were down below. There were so many that Pandimala could not see the edge of the crowd. How had they all gathered so fast?

"They were here wondering what most of the Decepticon elite are doing on Cybertron." Megatron whispered in her audio receptor.

Pandimala nodded and whispered back, "Thanks Megs."

He raised an optic ridge at that and looked like he wanted to say something when Ultra Magnus addressed the crowd. "Autobots, you all have probably been wondering why the Decepticon elite was allowed access to Cybertron. Well, the simple answer to that is that the war is officially over. This is being broadcasted on inter-galactic transmitter feed so all armies, Autobot, Decepticon, and Dragon Scouter, can hear this. Megatron, will you take the next part?"

Megatron nodded and said, "Yes." He then stepped to the front and said, "We have all come to an agreement that will allow all of us to live on Cybertron in peace. The Decepticons will be given the cities of Kaon and Vos for our domain and we will remain our own ruling group. But, we will also remain allies of the Autobots. We are tired of the countless fighting that has been going on for these many, many stellar cycles and I am proud to say that it is finally over. All the strife of war that has ravaged our race can now be put away." He then turned to Pandimala and said, "Would you care to take it from here Pandimala?"

Pandimala jumped at the sudden mention of her name but nodded before taking the front. She gulped nervously when she saw all of the bots down below. She had never had to talk in front of so many bots before. Clearing her vocals, she smiled and said, "Hey bots. As some of you know, my name is Pandimala. I am here as the representative of the Dragon Scouters, since I am their leader. We have been working for this day to happen and now we can all live in peace and harmony with each other. We must look past any wrongs that might have been committed in the past and look forward. Trust me; the war has caused pain for all of us, Decepticon, Autobot, and Dragon Scouter. We could all have reason to hurt someone from the other faction because of past wrongs but we must be strong and look past that. I don't ask you to forget, I just ask you to get along so more bots won't feel wronged or slighted in the same way. I ask you to forgive."

She then paused before saying, "I believe that all of us, as Cybertronians, must band together so we can restore the entirety of our home world to the beautiful planet that it once was. We can recreate a planet of innovation, discovery, and learning for all to improve. From the bottom of my spark, I truly believe that, together, we can bring about a new golden age for Cybertron." She then smiled and said, "Thank you for listening to me."

* * *

She was very surprised when she heard the roar of applause that followed. Never, never had she expected such a response in her stellar cycles of living, and that was saying a lot. Smiling, she turned to Ultra Magnus and said, "Open the space bridges and bring all of our brethren home, Autobot, Decepticon, Dragon Scouter, and all of the Cybertronians that did not choose a side. We have to prepare a celebration to remember this momentous event. But, before that, I think I need to relax."

Ultra Magnus nodded and said, "Of course, and where will you be going to relax?"

Pandimala smirked and said, "Don't you mean we since both Megatron and yourself will be joining me? We are going to be meeting up with the Scouters, Decepticons, and Autobots that came here with us and we are meeting up at Slapjacks. He said that he would close up the joint to all bots but us for the night."

Ultra Magnus smiled and nodded before saying, "That sounds wonderful. I'll meet up with you all after I tell the space bridge controllers to let all bots through, no matter their faction." He then walked up.

"So," Megatron stated with a smile before holding out his arm to Pandimala and saying, "Will you allow me to escort you to this 'Slapjacks'?"

Pandimala smiled and opened her bond with Chaom before saying, **Hey Chaom, have the others that came with us meet us at Slapjacks and go with them. **

**What about you? **Chaom asked.

**We've got that covered.** Pandimala said before turning to Megatron and saying, "Of course, I would be honored." She then took his arm before they both walked outside. She was surprised about the amount of bots already on Cybertron. They seemed to be flowing in by the click. She could also see that many of the Decepticons and Dragon Scouters were spreading out all over, probably to set up homes. She knew that she should but she really needed a break right now.

After a few clicks, and many stops to see the sights, Pandimala and Megatron arrived at Slapjacks. She was impressed. She still remembered the quaint little bar that he used to own. Now she was pretty sure that she could see at least two floors and the entire thing seemed to have been revamped.

"Well," Megatron said while looking at her, "Shall we go inside?"

Pandimala nodded and said, "Of course, and since I don't think you have been to Slap's, allow me to walk you inside."

Megatron nodded and said, "I would be honored Pandimala."

Pandimala let out a light laugh before walking up the steps and opening the door before they all went inside. When they walked in, Pandimala felt awkward when everything went quiet. The four Guardians that were originally on Cybertron before this were sitting with Slap, Lavana, Radar, Pinefrost, Neuro, and Suncrest. Chaom was sitting with Starscream, Zarron, and Blitzwing. Balm was with Stormfire, Pandemonium, and Malice.

"Hey bots, glad you didn't start the party without us." Pandimala said as they walked in.

Slapjack stood and walked over to her before giving her a hug and saying, "You seem to have disappeared only to come back and end a war. That is an enormous feat for one so young."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Well, I couldn't have done it alone. All of us played a part in ending this war." She then glanced at Megatron and said, "Megatron, this is Slapjack, Lavana, Radar, Pinefrost, Neuro, and Suncrest. They have been dear friends of ours for many stellar cycles."

Megatron nodded and said, "It is a pleasure to meet friends of Pandimala's."

They all nodded and said their hellos. She then motioned to the Guardians and said, "And these four bots are Hinge, Blackbit, Chem, and Tana and they are four of the six Guardians."

Megatron again nodded before saying, "It is an honor to meet you four. I have heard much, not just from Pandimala, about you all and how honorably you fight and how well you fight in combat." He then seemed to stare at them all before smiling and saying, "Well, we had better make this a fun time."

That seemed to relax the mood and everyone then started to mingle with everyone else. About fifteen clicks later, Ultra Magnus arrived and they all enjoyed their time together. This was truly a grand time.

* * *

**Pandimala: *singing* We're going to party! The war is over! We're going to party!**

**Megatron: Sometimes, I just don't understand you femmes.**

**Balm: *singing* We're going to party! The war is over!**

**Stormfire: I know Megatron, I'm still trying to figure them out and I am bonded to one.**

**Pandimala and Balm: *smile at each other* *sing* WE'RE GOING TO PARTY! THE WAR IS OVER!**

* * *

**AN: Well, that was the next exciting chapter of The Path less taken. THE WAR IS OVER! So, the next chapters will be pretty fun and not much confusion or sadness. Hope they will help you all relax until the exciting stuff comes back (cause trust me, it gets really exciting) ;) Until then though, please read and review. But no flames.**


	21. What Fresh Air Brings

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: This peace feels great.**

**Chaom: Yep, and we all have Authoress to thank.**

**Authoress: Thank you Chaom. This will be very interesting since the peace is here.**

**Remcy: What do you mean by that Authoress?**

* * *

Ch. 21: What Fresh Air Brings

As Pandimala walked down the streets of Iacon, she sighed as she still saw the lingering signs of nervousness from Autobots and Decepticons alike toward the opposite faction. It had already been about thirty solar cycles now and she would have thought that they would have mellowed out by now. She hated seeing everybot interacting so jaggedly with each other. True, they weren't being rude, but they were trying to avoid each other at all costs.

When she arrived at her home, she sighed and walked inside. She had just come back from a very long and boring meeting with Ultra Magnus, Megatron, and the Autobot council. Pandimala was pretty sure that she must have napped through half of it at least because Megatron had to keep nudging her awake. But, it wasn't like she was actually been trying to. As of late, her recharge was getting shorter and she never seemed to have enough energy to get through a full solar cycle.

"Chaom, are you home?" Pandimala called out as she entered their living room.

She let out a smile when Chaom walked in and gave her a hug and a quick peck on the lips before saying, "Yes dear. And, how was your solar cycle?"

Pandimala sighed and said, "Tiring as ever. Dragstrip carried on forever about the standards of their supplies. I thought that I was going to turn into an old bot before he got done. Megatron even had to wake me up a few times. Of course, Sentinel still seems upset that he is even there with me. I'm pretty sure that he still wishes that the war was still going on."

Chaom led her over to the couch and they both sat down before he said, "Well, that does sound boring. As for Sentinel, well, he will get over it in a few stellar cycles; we just have to suffer him until then. But, there is something that you and I have to discuss."

Pandimala looked at him with worried optics. Was there something major happening that she needed to be at or was there something wrong that she needed to help settle? "What's wrong?" She asked.

She was relieved when Chaom let out a laugh and kissed her cheek before saying, "No, nothing like that Pandimala, though it is important. There is a special date coming up in two solar cycles and we have to decide what we are going to do for it."

Pandimala now thought deeply. She had been so stressed lately that she now had to think deeply about what this could be. There wasn't a Cybertronian holiday coming up that she could think of. At the word 'holiday', she decided to try and think of some Earth holidays. Once she got her calendars straight, she let out a gasp as what was coming up. It was Christmas. And more importantly, it was hers and Chaom's bonding anniversary! "Oh my Primus how could I forget?" Pandimala exclaimed.

Chaom smiled and said, "Dear, I know you have been extremely busy with working out this peace. That's why I'm reminding you now. So, what could we do?"

Pandimala sighed and leaned against Chaom before saying, "I don't know. There is just so much on my processor right now that I can't think."

They were both silent for a click until Chaom suddenly stood up and held out a servo to Pandimala before saying, "Why don't we go on a walk dear? That way, the outdoor air can clear your processor."

Pandimala nodded and stood up before leading Chaom out of the door. Once they started walking down the streets, Pandimala took in a deep intake and slowly let it out. Chaom, of course, was right. She was feeling loads better now that she could relax and feel a soft breeze on her wings. For some odd reason, her thoughts suddenly went to her time in boot camp and she suddenly had a longing to go over there. She then remembered that the Autobots were still training bots there and Pandimala now wanted to go and see those bots that the Guardians had been watching. So, she hugged Chaom's arm and smiled at him before asking, "Chaom sweetspark, I was wondering if we could go to the training grounds and watch the recruits that Tana and them have been talking about train?"

Chaom sighed and said, "Anything for you darling. Now, are we walking or flying?"

Pandimala thought about that for a nano-click before saying, "Let's walk. We don't need to scare them and have one accidently shoot at us. That would not do well for this peace."

Chaom nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulder before the two of headed toward said training grounds. It was a little of a walk but Pandimala was excited when, as they walked around the field, she heard the sound of training. This made her feel almost like she was back in boot camp. Seeing Tana and the other Guardians, including the twins, Pandimala jogged up to them and said, "Hey bots."

Tana turned and smiled before saying, "Hey 'Mala, you just missed Megatron. He was here watching for a little before heading back to Kaon. What are you doing here?"

Chaom let out a chuckle and said, "Pandimala wanted a break from politics so she decided to come down here and of course, I just had to come with. We also want to watch these recruits you have been talking about so well in action with our own optics."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Especially this mech you say can clone himself. I haven't seen that fun of an ability since Elita being able to clone mods from other bots."

Tana nodded and said, "Yes, both him and Shrike have been coming to us for some training help and I must say that they are coming along just fine."

Pandimala nodded and went to ask another question but stopped when she watched as the group of trainees jogged up and stopped, the instructor, Kappo she was sure Tana called him, up front.

"Ok bots, drop and give me fifty transform ups!" Kappo shouted.

The bots groaned but did as they were told. Pandimala had to smirk at that, she hadn't had to do a single transform up until much later in her training and those only happened a few times because the instructors didn't like how she would switch from transforming from a jet to a tank and back.

Pandimala was so in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that the instructor had walked up to them before his servo was suddenly in front of her and he said, "Pandimala, it is an honor to finally meet you. I'm Kappo and I am an instructor here."

Pandimala took his servo and shook it while smiling and saying, "It is a pleasure Kappo. I have heard that you have been doing a wonderful job with these bots."

Kappo let out a laugh and motioned toward the Guardians before saying, "I couldn't have done it without their help. This is my first team and I don't know where I would be now if it wasn't for them all being here to help me."

Pandimala smiled at the Guardians and said, "Trust me; I wouldn't know where I would be without them either."

Hinge laughed at that and said, "Don't give us all the credit Pandimala, you are the one that took us in when we were booted from Cybertron and you reunited us with the twins and Tana. If it wasn't for you, the Guardians wouldn't be around today to be so helpful."

Pandimala was about to say something when she heard the sound of metal hitting metal coming from the trainees. Glancing over, she was shocked that the five of them were fighting. When Kappo turned, she heard him growl and say, "Not again. This is the third fight this week."

He started to walk over but Pandimala put a servo on his shoulder to stop him. "Hang on Kappo; I want to see how this plays out."

Kappo looked weary but nodded before saying, "Fine, but if it gets to crazy, please jump in because I don't think that I will be able to stop it once it gets worse."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Fair enough. This should be fun because I don't think that they have even noticed that Chaom and I are here yet."

Kappo nodded in agreement so Pandimala turned her attention to the fight. She could see that it was the two bots name Shrike and Alphego against the others. But, Pandimala wasn't too worried about the fact. If the training that they were receiving from the Guardians paid off at all, this should be a very quick fight that will go in their favor.

* * *

Shrike growled as she ducked Flarespot's punch. The idiot thought that he could say that to her and get away with it? Plus, it didn't help his case that Alphego heard as well. Since they both greatly respected the Guardians, it was not a smart thing for him to say that the Guardians were pathetic excuses for bots that followed the traitor known as Pandimala. Yeah, Shrike was not going to hold herself back when he said that and she planted a nice punch to the fragger's faceplate. That of course, hadn't gone unnoticed by the other two of his lackeys.

"Take that back Flarespot." Shrike growled when the two sides separated and got at a standstill.

Flarespot chuckled and said, "You stupid femme, you are just upset that I am right. So, why don't you calm down and maybe I won't have to beat you."

Alphego let out a growl and stepped forward before saying, "You would have to fight me too Flare, and I don't think that would be in your best interest."

Toxic Root let out a laugh before saying, "What are you talking about shrimp? We clearly have you outnumbered."

Shrike smirked when Alphego's clone turned up on his other side, putting the actual Alphego in the middle of their now trio. "What were you saying Root? Because it now looks like we are evenly matched." Shrike stated.

Nightfreeze shook his helm and said, "You haven't used that clone of yours since the first day and you barely kept that active for long. As soon as one of us hits it, that clone will be out and then you two will be helpless against us."

Alphego narrowed his optics at Nightfreeze and said, "Well, why don't you find out for yourself Freeze? I'm sure that Shrike and I would love to prove you wrong."

Nightfreeze growled and charged forward, with Flarespot and Toxic Root on his sides, and he swung at the clone. They were all surprised when the clone actually stuck back and hit Nightfreeze, sending him back almost at the same time that Alphego hit Flarespot.

Shrike of course, also got in a hit at Toxic Root when he tried to hit her. To her, it looked like he must have been expecting her to freak out because he seemed surprised when she dodged his attack and gave him a kick in the faceplate in return.

The three idiots backed up and glared at them before Flarespot asked, "You pieces of scrap! How did you get so good?"

Shrike shook her helm at them and smirked before saying, "That is for us to know, and for you to wonder at."

She felt her optics widen in shock when Toxic Root transformed his servo to his gun and aimed it at them before saying, "Let's see how the two of you deal with a little acid growth."

Shrike felt her spark stop when he fired. She knew she didn't have time to dodge so all she could do was stand and stare as the seed flew closer.

A streak of fire crashing down on the seed from above caused them all to jump in shock and glance up. Shrike was surprised to see a black jet with lime green markings. That was, until, it transformed in the middle of them and Shrike was amazed to see the leader of the Dragon Scouters, and Tana's leader, Pandimala, standing between them now.

"That is enough!" Pandimala ordered before turning toward Toxic Root and saying, "You ever pull that again and I will personally come down here and rip your mods out of you, and trust me, it isn't a pretty sight."

Shrike saw Toxic Root actually shiver as she said that. Of course, Shrike had felt her own systems grow cold when Pandimala had said that. Now she knew why the Decepticons respected her enough to help her end the war. She could be one scary femme when she wanted to.

Shrike was pulled out of her thoughts when Pandimala said, "You three are to go to your bunks immediately and stay there for the rest of the solar cycle. Dismissed."

Shrike could see that the three mechs wanted to argue but the glare that Pandimala sent them was enough to make them turn tail. Once they were gone, Shrike heard Pandimala sigh before she walked up to them and asked, "Are you two ok?"

Alphego nodded and said, "Yes ma'am."

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "Please, call me Pandimala. Now, what started that?"

Shrike stepped forward and she noticed just how giant Pandimala was. Taking an intake, Shrike said, "Flarespot, the red mech, said that 'that the Guardians were pathetic excuses for bots that followed the traitor known as Pandimala', you, and I had previously told him not to insult the Guardians in my hearing again. I couldn't go back down on my word and Alphego here helped me to keep it. They need to learn when to keep their traps shut."

Shrike felt nervous when Pandimala raised an optic ridge and asked, "And you thought that you two would be the best ones to do this?"

Shrike was surprised when Alphego confidently nodded and said, "Yes Pandimala, we did. Since we have been receiving extra training from the four Guardians that you have had here on Cybertron, we would be perfect examples to show that the Guardians are not pathetic. Shoot, they have helped me to gain some confidence and allow me to control my clone better and they have helped Shrike."

Shrike nodded and said, "Exactly. It wouldn't have had the same effect if we didn't do that."

Shrike waited nervously as Pandimala studied them. It felt like her very spark was being examined and it felt weird. Pandimala was an impressive figure and she couldn't think of what the council was thinking when they had kicked her off of the Autobot side. Well, looking at recent events, she was sort of glad they did.

"Well," Pandimala started to say, drawing Shrikes attention back to her. "I guess the only thing that I can do," Shrike panicked when Pandimala paused. Was this punishment going to be painful? "Is, to thank you both and offer both my training abilities to help you along with my bondmate over there, Chaom's, as well. You have both honored us greatly and it has been a long time since I have seen one as young as you stick up for other bots like that."

Shrike just stared dumbly, not knowing what to say. This was Pandimala, the leader of the Dragon Scouters, offering both hers and her bondmate's help in training. This was amazing.

Luckily, Alphego answered, "Thank you Pandimala, we are really happy that you are doing this for us."

Shrike nodded and finally said, "Yeah, thanks Pandimala."

Shrike felt really happy when Pandimala smiled and said, "You are both very welcome. Now, I have to go now but I think I might come watch more of these training sessions. Have a good solar cycle." Pandimala then walked back over to the others and latched her arm in Chaom's before the two of them walked out.

Once they were gone, Shrike nudged Alphego and said, "Did that really just happen?"

Alphego nodded and said, "Yep."

Shrike and Alphego just stood there for a click, still in amazement about what had just happened.

* * *

**Shrike: Well, that was awesome!**

**Alphego: Yeah, Pandimala actually saved us and offered to train us more!**

**Authoress: Yep, Pandimala sure is a helpful femme.**

**Shrike: Luckily, I recorded all three of their scared looks when Pandimala came down.**

* * *

**AN: Ok, I hope you all liked this. Next chapter is going to have some more interaction with more Autobots and maybe some more foreshadowing. There was a little foreshadowing this chapter and I wonder if you found it. Well, I'll try to be quick with an update so please read and review. But no flames.**


	22. Planning Fun

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandemonium: Ok, so why are we doing this?**

**Authoress: Doing what?**

**Malice: Exactly, this story is getting boring now.**

**Authoress: Well, then you haven't been seeing the hints of something major coming up.**

* * *

Ch. 22: Planning Fun

Pandimala groaned as she onlined her optics. She had experienced another terrible night of recharge and she didn't want to get up. But, she had to go sit through another boring meeting and they would be upset if she was late. Glancing at Chaom's recharging form, she smiled. She was lucky to have such an awesome mech as a bondmate. After a click of thinking, she decided that she was going to try to not wake him as she got ready.

But, the groan that came from him as she got up caused her to faceplate palm. He of course just had to get up now. He sat up and smiled at her before saying, "Good morning Pandimala. Where are you off to?"

Pandimala smiled at him and said, "I have to go to another fragging council meeting. I am pretty sure that I will be falling asleep during it." She then let out a yawn, her chassis emphasizing her point.

He frowned and sat up before saying, "Pandimala, you don't look like you could sit through me talking and get anything out of it. Lay down and I will go instead."

Pandimala shook her helm and said, "Chaom, I can't ask you to do that. You have been so helpful and it is the least I could do."

But Chaom, being the bondmate he was, shook his helm and said, "That wasn't a request 'Mala, you haven't been getting a lot of recharge and you have been working harder than any of us bots put together and it is draining your systems. Please just get some more recharge. If you really want something to do in a few cycles, you can go for a walk and think about what we are going to be doing. Since femmes are usually better at doing that stuff, I'll just let you plan it. Just don't surprise me. I think we have all had enough surprises for a while."

Pandimala could see that he was not going to back down so she smiled and said, "Fine, but I will be wracking my processor to figure out the best possible way that we can celebrate our anniversary."

Chaom then let out a chuckle before getting up and going to wash off for the day. Pandimala smiled and shook her helm before lying back down. She knew that he wouldn't leave until he saw that she was in the berth.

When he walked out of the washroom, he walked up to her and placed a small kiss on her lips before saying, "I'll see you when I get home dear."

Pandimala smiled and pulled him into another kiss before saying, "And I will be waiting dear."

Pandimala then watched as he walked out of the door. She was really lucky to have him as a bondmate. She couldn't imagine ever being away from him. Shaking that thought out of her processor, Pandimala laid her helm back. At that moment, she felt immensely drained. She was now really glad that Chaom had offered to go to the meeting instead of her. Smiling to herself, she felt herself slowly fall into recharge.

* * *

The sound of something clanging woke Pandimala up. She felt a lot better than she did earlier but now she wanted to see what had dragged her out of her peaceful recharge. Walking to the living room, she smiled when she saw Chaom picking up one of their decorative wall hangings. He must have been trying to clean the house.

"So, how was the meeting?" Pandimala asked him.

Chaom jumped and turned to her before smiling and saying, "It was the most dreadful thing that I have ever been to. I honestly don't know how you can pull yourself into going to those blasted things. After today, sweetspark, my respect for you has doubled. I felt like strangling Dragstrip if he didn't shut up. I would have a few times to if Megatron hadn't been there to stop me. Oh, speaking of Megatron, he asked where you were today. I told him that you weren't feeling too great this morning and I came to the meeting so you could get some rest. He said that he would stop by later tonight, but he said it would be at least five cycles because he had some things to take care of in Kaon."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Well, that does sound incredibly boring. I unfortunately don't have much to say because I just woke up when you walked in."

Chaom walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist before saying, "I'm sorry I woke you dear. I was just trying to get this place a little tidy before you woke up. I honestly don't know how you manage to do it on the mornings I actually sleep in."

Pandimala smiled and touched one of her digits to his lips before saying, "It's a femme thing sweetspark. We don't give away our secrets in that."

He smiled and put his helm against hers before asking, "So, have you thought of anything that we can do for our anniversary?"

Pandimala shook her helm, causing him to shake his, before saying, "Sorry dear, I haven't been able to think of anything. Maybe we should go on another walk?"

Chaom let out a sigh and said, "Sorry dear, but I just came home for a break. Dragstrip still has to go through about three more reports, and you know how long those can take."

Pandimala let out a sigh and said, "Well, I guess I'll just go on my own. I've been meaning to stop by and see some of the other bots for a while now and I guess that this would be a good time since you seem to be taking over my responsibilities for the solar cycle."

Chaom smiled and put another kiss to her lips before saying, "I'll come home when I can dear. Send me a message when you are coming home from your outing."

Pandimala smiled and said, "Yes dear. Love you Chaom."

He smiled and said, "Love you too 'Mala." She then watched as he walked out of the door.

* * *

Sighing to herself, Pandimala took a quick drink of energon before walking out of the door. As she walked down the streets, she felt so relaxed when she felt the breeze gently brush against her wings. The wind had always felt so calming when she was on Earth and she was glad that hadn't changed since she was now back on Cybertron.

She was now heading to the Cyber-ninja school which Prowl, Jazz, Scale, and Tune had reopened. They had come to her and the council and asked if they could and Pandimala was only too happy to offer her support. This would promote the three sides to interact with each other and allow them somewhere peaceful to go and just let it all flow away.

After about five clicks of walking, Pandimala smiled when she arrived at the school. Walking inside, she followed the sound of talking to the main fighting room. When she got there, she was surprised to see a green helicopter mech talking with Prowl and Jazz and she could tell that they knew each other somehow.

"Springer, it has been a long time." Prowl said with a small smile.

The helicopter mech, who Pandimala assumed was Springer, said, "Yeah, the last time we saw each other was when Yoketron brought you to Nebulos for some training. You've grown a lot."

Jazz laughed at that and said, "We all have and it is good to be meeting during this time of peace. We all owe Pandimala a great big debt of gratitude for paving the way for peace to come in. If it wasn't for her, we would still be fighting the 'Cons instead of talking about the different news on other planets with them, though I still find it difficult to talk to most of them."

Prowl nodded and said, "I feel the same way Jazz. It's not like I don't want to, I just haven't met most of them and I don't know how to start a conversation with most of them."

Their conversation struck a chord in Pandimala's thoughts. She had an idea forming but she wasn't sure how she was going to do it. So, she decided to make her presence known. In a fun way, of course. She took out her dagger and aimed it at Jazz before launching it. She threw it a few inches off just in case he didn't try to dodge or deflect it.

"What the frag?" Jazz called out as he bent back to dodge the blow.

Of course, Pandimala didn't expect any retaliation and she hissed when she felt two of Prowl's blasted shruikens imbedded themselves in her wings. She had to rethink her strategy about scaring them. Maybe she would aim for Prowl so he couldn't throw those fragging things.

"Hold your fire mechs, it's just me." Pandimala said as she walked out, yanking at the first shruiken. She growled when the fragging thing wouldn't come out.

Prowl and Jazz let out a sigh of relief and the one called Springer said, "Femme, you really shouldn't do that. You are lucky that Prowl here didn't aim for your spark."

Pandimala let out a laugh and said, "No, Jazz is lucky that I aimed off by a few inches. Otherwise we would be running him to a med center, or at least getting a medic down here."

Springer stared at her before holding out a servo and saying, "The designation's Springer and I just flew in from Nebulos. Who are you?"

Pandimala was about to introduce herself when Jazz threw his arm around her waist, since he couldn't reach her shoulders, and said, "Springer, this here is the femme we were just talking about. This is Pandimala, leader of the D. Scouters."

Pandimala nodded and said, "It is nice to meet you Springer."

He stared at her in shock for a click before shaking her extended servo and said, "Nice to meet you too. I trained under Yoketron and I helped him train these mechs when he would bring them to Nebulos."

Pandimala nodded and grabbed one of the shruikens imbedded in her wing before finally yanking it out. "Good, now I just have one more." Pandimala winced when she pulled the second one and it dug into her wing. This one must have kept spinning a little after it hit and acted like a fish hook. Great, this was going to be fun.

Pandimala jumped when Springer walked up and said, "I'm going to pull it out on the count of three. I want you to stop your intakes for that time, ok?"

Pandimala nodded and said, "Ok." Before she held her intakes.

"One," Springer started to count. Pandimala nodded and waited. The tension was killing her. "THREE!"

Pandimala let out a yelp when he suddenly pulled the shruiken out. Rubbing her wing, she glared at Springer and said, "What the frag, you said on the count of three?"

Springer shook his helm and said, "You would have been too tense to pull it out safely. I would have ended up doing more damage to your wing."

Pandimala sighed and said, "Then thank you. I was just walking around to clear my helm when I decided to stop by and see if Scale and Tune were in."

Prowl shook his helm and said, "You just missed them. Their bondmates called them and asked them to train with them at Guardian HQ."

Pandimala frowned and said, "Frag, and I was going to ask them what I should do for my anniversary."

Prowl raised an optic ridge and asked, "Do you mean your bonding anniversary?"

Pandimala gave a small smile and nodded before saying, "Yeah, I am trying to plan something epic but I can't figure out what I can do. I got the idea of doing something that would include all of the bots from all of the factions that I could but I haven't been able to think of anything."

The four of them went silent so they could think. Well, silent until Jazz snapped his digits together and said, "I got it!"

They all stared at Jazz and Springer said, "Well, you got our attention Jazz, what is it?"

Jazz looked like he was going to bounce out of his pedes before he said, "You could host a ball!"

"You mean those circular play things that the humans use?" Prowl asked.

But, Pandimala knew what he was talking about right away and she loved the idea. "No, not that ball, but the kind of ball where bots dance at. There is usually a nice variety of dances that are preformed and many of them force bots to interact with each other. This would help the three factions grow closer."

Springer nodded and said, "That could work. But, when is your anniversary?"

"Tomorrow!" Pandimala yelled out in a panicked voice. How was she going to get everything organized by tomorrow? There was so much that they needed to do that she wasn't sure how she was going to do it.

"Calm down 'Mala." Jazz started, "I'll do the music mixing for you if you want?"

Pandimala nodded enthusiastically and said, "Yes, thank you so much Jazz."

"You are still going to need a venue." Springer reminded.

Pandimala nodded and said, "I think I know where it can be. I just have to go ask Ultra Magnus if we can use it. Well, see you bots around." She then ran out of the dojo.

* * *

Ultra Magnus sighed in boredom as Dragstrip talked about the credit reserves that the Autobots had. He felt like Dragstrip had been talking for stellar cycles instead of the fifteen clicks that he had. Maybe it was the monologue speech pattern that Dragstrip seemed to use when he wasn't yelling at a bot or lecturing them. Ultra Magnus didn't know and recently, he didn't care. He wished he had someone to come to these meetings for him, like Pandimala had Chaom.

Glancing at said mech, Ultra Magnus chuckled to himself when he saw that the mech was in a light recharge. Ultra Magnus knew that settling this alliance was hitting them hard. It was hitting him hard and he didn't have nearly the stress that they did. While he only had to deal with the other Autobots and Megatron, Pandimala and Chaom had to deal with answering questions and settling debates for both sides plus keeping their own troops in line. Ultra Magnus was pretty sure that was why Pandimala had been feeling to under the weather to come.

Ultra Magnus jumped when he received a private message. Opening it, he was surprised to see that it was from Pandimala and she wanted to meet with him in his office during the next break. Luckily, Dragstrip then said, "And that is it for the credit reserves. We will take a thirty click break before meeting back here."

Ultra Magnus chuckled to himself when he saw that Chaom as now completely in recharge, probably taking a stasis nap before the next bit started. Quickly rising from his seat, Ultra Magnus made his way to his office. After about three clicks of walking later, Ultra Magnus arrived at his office and he opened his door.

"Hey Ultra Magnus." Pandimala stated while rising from her seat.

"Hello 'Mala. I am surprised that you are here. Your bondmate said that you were taking the solar cycle off to get some recharge." Ultra Magnus said.

Pandimala's small smile caused Ultra Magnus to smile as well when she said, "Well, I was sleeping for a little before you bots went on your first break. Then, Chaom accidently woke me up when he came home and so I decided to go to the dojo and see if I could find Scale and Tune. I wanted their advice about what to do for my bonding anniversary. Well, they weren't there but Jazz, Prowl, and Springer gave me the most wonderful idea."

"And what was that idea?" Ultra Magnus asked, now curious. He didn't know that Pandimala's and Chaom's bonding anniversary was coming up. He would have to go and get a gift once he knew when it was exactly.

"Well, Jazz suggested that Chaom and I host a ball to celebrate it. You know; a dance." Pandimala answered.

Ultra Magnus smiled and said, "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Pandimala nodded but said, "But, one of the things we need is a location that would be large enough to host this. I'm planning on inviting everybot that I know and that means we are going to need a lot of room."

Ultra Magnus nodded in understanding. He could now see her problem. But, he figured that there had to be a building that they could use for this so he sat down at his desk before accessing the Autobot data base. He was searching through all of the public buildings that they could use for this. He knew it would have to be pretty big so he told the data base to sort the buildings from the ones that had the most room to the ones that had the least. Once they appeared, he scrolled through the locations until he found the perfect one.

"Why don't we use the Strato Dome?" Ultra Magnus suggested.

He was glad when Pandimala nodded enthusiastically and said, "That would be perfect. That way, if some of the flyers want to show off their flying expertise, they can do some air dancing. Oh this is going to be so exciting!" She then ran up to him and gave him a giant hug before saying, "Thank you so much Ultra Magnus!" She then then seemed to think about something before saying, "I got to get everything prepared!" Pandimala then sprinted out of the room.

Ultra Magnus just shook his helm. Pandimala seemed so excited for this. He hoped that it all panned through. He then realized that it was time to go back to the meeting so he made his way back.

* * *

As soon as Pandimala had left Ultra Magnus' office, she had sent a private message to Chaom explaining everything. She then contacted Jazz, Springer, and Prowl and asked if they could come and help. Luckily, they said that they would. Right then, she needed to get to the Dome to make start setting up. As she ran, she realized that she would need help so she contacted the one femme and mech that she knew would love to help her with this.

"Hello dear, how've you been?" Malice asked.

"I'm in kind of a bind carrier. I was wondering if you and sire could meet me at the Strato Dome? And bring some decorating materials for a dance. Chaom and I are hosting a ball for our bonding anniversary." Pandimala asked.

Pandimala smiled but winced at Malice's excited squeal that came from the other side. She then heard her yell, "Pandemonium get your aft over here. We are heading to the Strato Dome after we stop by our place and get some decorations! NOW!" Pandimala then heard the sound of transforming and knew that Malice was now flying.

"So, I take it that you are in?" Pandimala asked to make sure.

She felt a 'did you seriously just say that' feeling travel through her creation-creator bond before Malice said, "Of course I am going to dear. Anarcum and Betaxia never celebrate theirs for the public and I have always wanted to help with one of these. Oh it will be so much fun! Well, I have to let you go dear. We are getting some decorating materials now. See you in a few click dear."

"See you in a click Malice." Pandimala said before ending the call. This was going to be awesome but, if she didn't want to be staying up until late, she knew she had to get there as soon as she could and get this all arranged quickly.

When she finally arrived a few clicks later, Pandimala was surprised to see Balm, Tana, Arcee, Beam, Scale, Tune, Betaxia, Elita, Whirlwind, and, to her greatest surprise, Botanica as well as Malice, Jazz, Prowl, and Springer.

"What are you femmes all doing here?" Pandimala asked the unexpected femmes in shock.

Balm shook her helm and said, "You honestly thought that Malice wouldn't tell us about this and that we wouldn't help? Have these politics been frying your processor?"

Pandimala laughed and said, "No, I don't think they have. Thank you so much for coming to help femmes, and mechs. I don't know what I would do without you."

Springer let out a deep chuckle before saying, "Well, you wouldn't get anything done because you keep talking. Are we here to work or chitter?"

All of the femmes laughed before they went inside and began to set everything up. Pandimala was glad that Malice and the others had brought decorating items that pertained to Christmas. It made setting up that much easier. While she made sure everything was being set up correctly, she also made sure that she told Jazz all of the specific songs that she wanted and told him the boundaries that he was to stay in for getting the rest of the music. Also, she pulled the femmes aside with Jazz to discuss what she was planning with the first number. Pandimala was happy when they all agreed.

It took them all about four cycles of heavy lifting and hard work to get it all set up, but Pandimala couldn't have been happier with the results. The place looked stunning and it was sure to allow the bots who came to relax and actually interact with all of the bots, not just bots of their faction.

* * *

Saying goodbye to the others and after locking up, Pandimala walked home. It was just starting to get dark and she didn't want to be out when it got totally dark. She felt relieved when she arrived at home and walked through the door. When she walked into the living room, she was slightly surprised to see Megatron sitting there but not Chaom.

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to be here. Though I imagine setting up for your ball probably took time." Megatron said as he rose to greet her.

That was when she remembered that Chaom had said that he was coming. Frag how could she have forgot? "Sorry I took so long. We tried to set it up quickly but we had some problems with the sound systems. But honestly, I forgot that Chaom mentioned that you were coming down tonight."

Megatron let off a chuckle at that and said, "It is alright Pandimala. I just wanted to come down and see how you were feeling. Chaom told me that you haven't been getting a very good recharge lately."

Pandimala sighed and said, "Yeah, it has been a little harder for me to go into recharge lately but I think that it is just because my systems are trying to reset themselves from a war time environment to a peacetime one and the transition is not going smoothly. I will be back to my old recharge cycle soon."

Megatron smiled and said, "That is good. I had been hoping to stay for longer but I have to get back and make sure that everything is running smoothly in Vos before I get back to Kaon. Have a nice recharge 'Mala." He then gave her a hug as he said that last part.

Pandimala hugged him in return and said, "Thank you for visiting Megatron and I hope you have a nice recharge as well."

She then watched as he flew off. Once he was out of sight, she went to her room and got on her berth. She felt so exhausted and she just wanted to recharge. She was glad when recharge met her readily.

* * *

**Malice: Oh, I can't wait for this ball! **

**Pandemonium: Me neither. This must have been what the Authoress was talking about.**

**Authoress: Or was it?**

**Balm: Great, it wasn't. Now the suspense is back.**

* * *

**AN: Well, here is the next chapter. I hope you all liked it. Next chapter will be the ball. The little bit of talking above is right about one thing; the ball wasn't the major thing that is going to be happening that has been foreshadowed. If you can guess what is going to happen, P.M. me what you think. Well, until then, please read and review. But no flames.**


	23. Because You Loved Me

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Pandimala: Does anybot know why the Authoress is in tears?**

**Blackbit: Uh-oh! She killed one of us! Everybot for themselves!**

**Chaom: She better not have. I actually like all of this happiness right now.**

**Megatron: I agree, but we should give the Authoress the benefit of the doubt. She might be crying for another reason.**

* * *

Ch. 23: Because You Loved Me

Elita felt like she was going to glitch from all of the anticipation that she was feeling. The ball tonight was going to be amazing. She just knew that this would help the three sides drop their barriers and become closer. Pandimala had left her a private message this morning saying that she was going to come by with a special cloak that she would have to wear tonight for the opening song.

It was now about the middle of the solar cycle and Elita knew that Pandimala would be there soon. Pandimala had said she had needed to stop by Kaon, Vos, and Praxus before she could stop by. Elita had figured that meant that she would arrive sometime late in the afternoon, but before she had to get to the ball.

"Hey Elita. What are you doing?"

Elita turned at the voice and let off a small smile when she saw Optimus walking up. Ever since she had been returned to normal, she and Optimus had been spending a lot of time together. On Earth, he would always wait for her to get up before getting his morning energon and he would always ask her to go on patrol with him or he would just ask her to go for a walk. When they returned to Cybertron, he always came over to see her and talk a little before the two of them would go off on walks around. Optimus would tell her about everything that was new and she didn't know about.

"I'm waiting for Pandimala to stop by. She said she wanted to give me something." Elita answered. She didn't tell Optimus what Pandimala was bringing because it was to be a surprise, though she wouldn't be changing into the cloak until all of the femmes involved arrived at the ball. "What are you doing?" She then asked.

To her, Optimus seemed a little nervous when she asked that. What could be bothering him? "Well, I actually, well, oh how do I put this?" He said before again thinking. Elita figured that it must be something important because Optimus didn't usually act this way.

"Are you ok Optimus?" She asked, making sure that he wasn't suffering from a virus.

Optimus let out a deep intake and nodded before saying, "I'm fine. Actually, Elita, I was wondering if you would like to go to the ball with me tonight?"

Elita could see that took a lot of courage for Optimus to ask her that. She knew, from her past as well as the present, that Optimus was a sort of shy mech but she also knew that he was brave and kind and loyal. So, she smiled and nodded her helm before saying, "I would love to Optimus!"

He smiled with a relieved look before saying, "Thank you Elita. I'll be back to pick you up in about three cycles. Is that acceptable?"

Elita knew that she had to be at the ball in three and a half cycles so she knew that would be perfect so she nodded and said, "Three cycles sounds great Optimus."

He smiled, she loved his smile, and said, "Ok, well, I have to go and get ready. See you then." He then waved before walking off.

"See you then!" She called after him before sighing in happiness. She could never be happier. She had always had a crush on Optimus, even from before the incident, and her crush had grown when she was Blackarachnia and he had still cared about her. He was the perfect mech.

The sound of a jet engine drew her attention up to the sky and she smiled when she saw the black and lime green jet above her. The jet then transformed and Pandimala landed on the ground in front of her, with a rushed look on her faceplate.

"Sorry I'm so late Elita. My carrier wanted to talk about her cloak's design when I dropped it off and, of course, I couldn't say no. She of course wanted to chit chat about other things while I was there so I had to wait until there was a nice moment when I could tell her that I had to get here to get you your cloak. She of course, felt dreadful for keeping me and she shooed me out of there quicker than a bot running with a scraplet on their tailpipe." Pandimala explained.

Elita let out a chuckle at the last image before saying, "It's ok 'Mala. Actually, I'm kind of glad that you took your time."

Pandimala lifted an optic ridge at that and said, "Oh, and why is that?"

Elita smiled a soft smile before saying, "Well, while I was waiting, Optimus came by and asked if I would go with him to the ball tonight."

Pandimala's smile was huge and she asked, "Primus tell me you said yes?"

Elita let out a laugh before saying, "He is going to be here in three cycles."

Pandimala let out a squeal before saying, "We don't have a click to waste! We have to get you ready for him. Plus, I have to give you your cloak. This night is definitely going to be one to remember." Elita let out a giggle when Pandimala suddenly grabbed her wrist before pulling her into the house.

* * *

The city of Iacon was bustling with bots polished up with their best polish and gathering at the Strato Dome. The Strato Dome was where any bot who was anybot was at the time. This was the ball that was to celebrate the bonding of two of Cybertron's most known bots, Pandimala and Chaom.

Pandimala, on her part, was pacing nervously, waiting for the time to come to allow everyone in. She knew that the leaders, including herself, would have to walk down the aisle first. Then, the eleven other femmes and their escorts would walk behind her. That way, they could get ready because no one was going to be dancing until the first song was over.

Walking up next to Chaom, she put her servo in his and said, "Are you ready to get this started dear?"

He smiled and gave her a small peck on the lips before smiling and saying, "As ready as I always am dear." Pandimala smiled before sending a signal to Jazz to get the entrance music started.

"Ok mechs and femmes out there, I am Jazz, you MC for the night, and now, I would like to introduce you to the lovely couple that is responsible for the good time that we are about to have. I would like you all to put your servos together for Pandimala and Chaom!" Jazz said. He then started the music, which was 'I like to Move It' sung by King Julien from Madagascar.

_I Like To Move It Move It__  
__I Like To Move It Move It__  
__I Like To Move It Move It__  
__Ya Like To (MOVE IT!)_

Pandimala smiled at Chaom before the two of them then walked out. Pandimala had thought that this would be the funniest song to use so the mood could be lightened a bit. The cheering of the crowd caused Pandimala to smile and wave at all of the bots around.

"Ok bots, he may have a stern look about him but don't let that fool you. We all know he has a soft spark. Let's give it up for Megatron!" Jazz called out.

Pandimala was worried that the crowd wouldn't react very well. But, she was relieved when she was proven wrong when they cheered almost as loudly for him as they did for her.

_All Girls All Over The World__  
__Original King Julian Pon Ya Case Man!__  
__I Love How All The Girls A Move Their Body__  
__And When Ya Move Ya Body__  
__Uno Move It__  
__Nice And Sweet And Sexy Alright!_

Megatron walked out, helm held high and a smile plastering his faceplate as he waved to all of the bots. Once he was down the aisle, he stood next to Pandimala and said, "This might actually go off pretty nicely."

Pandimala smirked and said, "Why thank you for your vote of confidence Megatron."

He shook his helm and smiled before the two of them then turned their attention to Jazz as he said, "Now, this next bot is one that you all know well. Let's put our servos together for Ultra Magnus!"

_Woman Ya Cute And You Don't Need No Make-Up__  
__Original Cute Body You A Mek Man Mud Up__  
__Woman Ya Cute And You Don't Need No Make-Up__  
__Original Cute Body You A Mek Man Mud Up_

Pandimala smiled as the mech who she had considered as an adoptive sire for much of her existence walked out and waved at the crowd. She was glad that he could come. Once he stood next to her, he smiled at her. She smiled and nodded back.

"Now, here is an important couple. If it weren't for them, this peace that we are all in would have never happened. Put your servos together for me for the creators of Pandimala; Malice and Pandemonium!"

_Woman! Physically Fit_  
_Physically Fit_  
_Physically_  
_Physically_  
_Physically_  
_Woman! Physically Fit_  
_Physically Fit_  
_Physically_  
_Physically_  
_Physically_  
_Physically_  
_Woman!_

Pandimala smile when her carrier walked up to her and gave her a giant hug before whispering, "This should be fun."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Definitely."

And that was how it went for the others that walked behind her. Pandimala knew that she and the femmes had to get ready so she sent them all a private message to get to the room at the top of the stairs to get ready. Once they were all in there, they took out their cloaks and put them on.

* * *

Chaom was really curious about what Pandimala had planned for this first song. She had been so secretive that he hadn't gotten a clue about what this was going to be about. The only thing that he knew for certain was that they were going to be using cloaks for this, and these cloaks would cover the entire bot so their identities would be hidden until the time.

"Hey everybot!" Jazz yelled out, getting everybot's attention. Once everybot was looking at him, he said, "I bet you have all been wanting to get on that dance floor, but we have had to wait for the first song to past. Well, I am pleased to announce that the wait is over." The crowd erupted in cheers and Jazz settled them down before saying, "Yes, but I do need to announce something. The only part of this song that I am providing is the instrumental part. The lovely femmes taking part in this will be doing the singing for us. They have also asked that you hold all applauses until the end. So, without further ado, let's get this underway!"

The crowd cheered for a second and Chaom could feel the anticipation building up inside. He couldn't wait to see what Pandimala had planned. He knew that this had already been a lot of work just to get the venue and the decorating and everything like that done, he knew that all of her hard work was now paying off and, as always, she was right; this was going to be an epic night that neither of them would remember.

The sound of the music starting quieted the crowd real quickly. Chaom recognized the song as, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', but he wasn't quite sure which version they were doing, and, since he knew his bondmate so well, he knew that he would never guess the actual version.

Twelve figures in cloaks then stepped down the stairs so that they were standing three to a step with three bots on the top step. This was definitely going to be good. As it came time to sing, Chaom was surprised when the figure on the top left took off the hood of their cloak, which was colored beige and yellow, and he saw that it was Balm.

_Balm: On the first day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me, __  
__A magical shell of the sea_

Ah, so they were doing the Disney Princess version. This was going to be interesting. Chaom then watched as the bot standing next to Balm took off the hood of their cloak, which was colored light blue, and he saw that it was Malice.

_Malice: On the second day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me, __  
__Two glass slippers, __  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

The final figure on the top row then took off the hood of their cloak, which was colored pink, green, and blue, and he saw that it was Beam.

_Beam: On the third day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me, __  
__Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers, __  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

The figure in front of Balm, who was wearing a brown and tan colored cloak, took off their hood and Chaom was slightly surprised to see Elita. Glancing at Optimus, he could see that Optimus was just as surprised as he was.

_Elita: On the fourth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me,__  
__Four storybooks, __  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers, __  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom then returned his attention to the femmes and he waited for the middle figure to remove their hood. The bot's cloak was colored green. He was surprised when the bot didn't take off their hood and the four previous femmes sang.

_Elita, Beam, Malice, and Balm: On the fifth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me,_

His surprise soon changed to joy when the figure finally took off their hood and Chaom smiled a giant smile of pride as Pandimala sang.

_Pandimala: Five emerald rings, __  
__Elita: Four storybooks, __  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers,__  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom only saw the bot next to Pandimala take off their hood, which was colored orange and yellow, out of his side vision. He just noticed that it was Arcee. His optics were pretty much full on Pandimala and how stunning she looked.

_Arcee: On the sixth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me, __  
__Six mice a sewing, __  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings, __  
__Elita: Four storybooks, __  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers, __  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom did see that Ratchet was staring at Arcee and he couldn't help but notice how admiring the look was. Maybe Ratchet and Arcee were going to be spending more time together? He wouldn't know. He returned his attention to the front when the figure in front of Elita, who was wearing a red and purple cloak, took off their hood and Chaom saw that it was Whirlwind.

_Whirlwind: On the seventh day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me, __  
__Seven dwarves a dancing, __  
__Arcee: Six mice a sewing, __  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings, __  
__Elita: Four storybooks,__  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers, __  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom noticed that Remcy was smiling at his mate and he knew that Remcy was loving this just as much as he was. The femmes really pulled out the stops with this. He then watched as the figure next to Whirlwind, who was wearing a gold cloak, pulled off their hood and Chaom smiled when he saw that it was Tune. Glancing at Hindsight, Chaom could practically see the fireworks that were going off in his helm. He really loved his bondmate.

_Tune: On the eighth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me,__  
__Eight crowns a shining, __  
__Whirlwind: Seven dwarves a dancing, __  
__Arcee: Six mice a sewing, __  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings, __  
__Elita: Four storybooks, __  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers,__  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Yep, the femmes had definitely pulled the stops out on this one. Glancing at the final bot in the third row, he watched as they removed their hood, which was colored red and pink, and he did a double take when he saw that it was Tana. He had no idea how his mate got her in those colors and, judging by the shocked look on Blackbit's faceplate, he was surprised as well.

_Tana: On the ninth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me, __  
__Nine roses blooming, __  
__Tune: Eight crowns a shining, __  
__Whirlwind: Seven dwarves a dancing, __  
__Arcee: Six mice a sewing, __  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings, __  
__Elita: Four storybooks, __  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes, __  
__Malice: Two glass slippers, __  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom was never going to forget this night for as long as he stayed functioning. This was simply magnificent, and the night had only just begun. Movement from the far left bot on the last row caused Chaom to turn his attention there and he watched as the bot removed their hood, which was colored blue and gray, and he was surprised to see Botanica. He hadn't expected the councilwoman to take part in this, but he was always ready to admit that he was wrong.

_Botanica: On the tenth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me,__  
__Ten mermaids swimming,__  
__Tana: Nine roses blooming,__  
__Tune: Eight crowns a shining,__  
__Whirlwind: Seven dwarves a dancing,__  
__Arcee: Six mice a sewing,__  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings,__  
__Elita: Four storybooks,__  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes,__  
__Malice: Two glass slippers,__  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom knew that this was nice but now he couldn't wait for it to be over so the dancing could begin. Luckily, he knew that there was only one more bot after this next one. Speaking of the next one, he saw them move and take of their hood, which was colored tan and red, to reveal Scale. Glancing and Foresight, He could tell that the mech was captivated by his bondmate. This beginning was turning out to be pretty awesome.

_Scale: On the eleventh day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me,__  
__Eleven pies a baking,__  
__Botanica: Ten mermaids swimming,__  
__Tana: Nine roses blooming,__  
__Tune: Eight crowns a shining,__  
__Whirlwind: Seven dwarves a dancing,__  
__Arcee: Six mice a sewing,__  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings,__  
__Elita: Four storybooks,__  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes,__  
__Malice: Two glass slippers,__  
__Balm: And a magical shell of the sea_

Chaom smiled as he looked at Pandimala. She had a smile plastered on her faceplate and he could tell that she was loving this. He glanced at the final figure, who was in an orange and black cloak, and waited for them to take it off. But, like with Pandimala, the figure kept it on while the others started to sing.

_Scale, Botanica, Tana, Tune, Whirlwind, Arcee, Pandimala, Elita, Beam, Malice, and Balm: On the twelfth day of Christmas__  
__My true love gave to me,_

Of course, he should have expected it to be the same as the final figure took off their hood to reveal Betaxia. She smiled before starting to sing.

_Betaxia: Twelve tigers purring,__  
__Scale: Eleven pies a baking,__  
__Botanica: Ten mermaids swimming,__  
__Tana: Nine roses blooming,__  
__Tune: Eight crowns a shining,__  
__Whirlwind: Seven dwarves a dancing,__  
__Arcee: Six mice a sewing,__  
__Pandimala: Five emerald rings,__  
__Elita: Four storybooks,__  
__Beam: Three fairy wishes,__  
__Malice: Two glass slippers,__  
__All femmes: And a magical shell of the sea_

Everybot in the place cheered and clapped as loudly as they could when the femmes finished up the song. Pandimala smiled and said, "Thank you for you generous response bots. Now, I think you all want to do some dancing now. So, let's party!" She then let out a laugh before walking up to Chaom. He let out a laugh when she grabbed his servo before pulling him out onto the dance floor with everybot else and they started to dance.

* * *

After a while, Pandimala felt a little saddened when she noticed that the factions were pretty much dancing with bots of their own faction. She had to fix that. But, she had to wait for the song, which happened to be 'Hot Wings' from the movie Rio, to get over with.

Luckily, it ended not long after Pandimala thought this so she sent a quick private message to Jazz to go to phase two. He smiled at her and cut the music. The bots in the room groaned in sadness. They must have thought that the dance was already over. But, Pandimala knew that this was still getting under way.

"Sorry for the interruption bots, but I would like to ask you to clear the dance floor for a click." Jazz said. The bots stared at him in confusion but did as he asked. Once they did, they all looked at him expectantly. "Now, this next song has a condition for you all to follow if you want to dance to it. You must, and we are serious about this, you must dance with a bot that is not a part of your faction. We will be watching. If you don't want to dance with a bot from another faction, then sit down on the side. Also, this song is most beautifully danced to with a waltz so I will give that suggestion to you all. Now, let's begin!" Jazz said before starting the music, which was the Disney Princess version of 'Christmas Is Coming'.

Pandimala held her intakes when the music started. She was so nervous that none of the bots would have the courage to ask a bot from a different faction to dance. Was this going to work?

_Everywhere in a hundred different places__  
__On Lumiere and Cogsworth's faces__  
__You can see it's Christmas Eve__  
__Christmas lights, candles burning in the windows__  
__When the dwarfs put on their best clothes__  
__I believe it's Christmas Eve__  
_

Pandimala was shocked when Megatron walked up to Optimus and asked, "Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

Optimus looked down right shocked for a good five nano clicks before nodding and allowing Megatron to lead him out onto the floor. Yes, this was going good. After that Pandimala smiled as more Decepticons started to ask Autobots to dance, as well as some Dragon Scouters. She smiled when she saw that they were all actually starting to have a good time.

_Christmas is coming and everyone sees__  
__Bows on the presents and snow on the trees__  
__Flounder's excited, Sebastian's so pleased__  
__Joy is in the air__  
__Christmas is coming for one and for all__  
__Good friends and family are coming to call__  
__I bought the Prince slippers, they're throwing a ball__  
__Christmas is everywhere_

Pandimala jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see who it was. She smiled when she saw Starscream standing there.

"Would you do me the honor of being my dance partner 'Mala?" Starscream asked.

Pandimala smiled and took his outstretched servo before saying, "Of course Mr. Starscream, I would be delighted."

Starscream let out a chuckle as he led her to the floor. This was going great. She couldn't have asked for a better reaction for her having them dance together. She made a mental note to thank Megatron when this was all done with.

_All around there are Christmas decorations__  
__Happy Christmas celebrations__  
__You can see it's Christmas Eve__  
__Stars shine bright, fires burning, cookies baking__  
__Christmas dinners in the making__  
__Telling me it's Christmas Eve_

Pandimala let out a laugh as Starscream twirled her before returning them to their normal gait. The last time that Pandimala had this much fun was back when they held the concert for the Autobots as the Metal Aliens. That had been fun and they had all worked together to make it happen, just like they had all worked together to make this night so enjoyable.

_Christmas is coming, the stockings are hung__  
__You know that it's Christmas when carols are sung__  
__How can you sleep, there are bells to be rung__  
__And friends to tell that you care__  
__Christmas is coming, the best time of year__  
__The palace is humming and filled with good cheer__  
__It's more fun than riding a carpet, my dear__  
__Christmas is everywhere_

Pandimala then noticed that Megatron and Starscream seemed to be communicating on a private frequency. She guessed this because they kept glancing at each other from time to time.

Pandimala was surprised when she got a request for a private communication. Raising an optic ridge, she accepted it. "Yes?" She asked.

"Pandimala, this is Optimus. What are Megatron and Starscream planning?" Optimus asked nervously.

Pandimala knew that she had to comfort him so she said, "It is probably something that will be fun. Whatever happens next, just go along with it, ok?"

She was relieved when he said, "Ok, I'll give it a shot."

Pandimala then smiled before returning her attention to Starscream.

_Spending Christmas in the ocean__  
__Spending Christmas with my friends__  
__Holidays at home are the best I've known__  
__And my heart has flown ever since_

After that part ended, Pandimala gasped in shock when Starscream suddenly started to hover off the ground and steadily take them higher. He was doing an air dance! She knew it was possible that they were going to do this but she hadn't actually expected him to do it. Glancing at Megatron, she smiled when she saw that Optimus was actually enjoying the air dance and he seemed to be actually talking with Megatron.

_Christmas is coming for one and for all__  
__Good friends and family are coming to call__  
__We're so glad it's Christmas, we're off to the ball__  
__Christmas is everywhere__  
__Christmas is coming, we're happy it's time__  
__Just being together with friends that are mine__  
__Whatever the weather, the world seems to shine_

Looking back at Starscream, Pandimala said, "Thank you Starscream. This was an amazing treat."

Starscream smiled back at her and bowed his helm before saying, "You are most welcome Pandimala. Anything for your bonding anniversary."

Pandimala let out a laugh and said, "Please also send my thanks to Megatron when you have a click. This will help the Autobots warm up to you all some more."

Starscream nodded and said, "Ok, now, let's enjoy this dance."

Pandimala nodded and just let the music guide her steps. This was a beautiful experience.

_When Christmas__  
__When Christmas__  
__When Christmas__  
__Is everywhere_

Pandimala was a little saddened when Starscream started to slowly drift down. But, she couldn't blame him. She knew that air dances took a toll on flyer's systems if they kept at it for too long and she knew that Starscream and Megatron had gone a pretty long time up there.

Knowing this part of the song very well, she knew that it was about to end and, when she looked at Starscream, she knew that he knew this as well so they decided to let it all out. Bringing out their best dance moves, Pandimala and Starscream finished dancing to the song.

_Christmas is coming for one and for all__  
__Good friends and family are coming to call__  
__We're so glad it's Christmas, we're off to the ball__  
__Christmas is everywhere__  
__Christmas is coming, we're happy it's time__  
__Just being together with friends that are mine__  
__Whatever the weather, the world seems to shine_

On the last note, Pandimala and Starscream struck a pose. The cheer from around told her that everybot who participated in the song enjoyed it and Pandimala added her own cheering to the mix. That dance had been marvelous and Pandimala took the time to try and guess who some bots danced with. She could tell that Malice danced with Ultra Magnus, Blitzwing danced with Knockout, Pandemonium had danced with Bumblebee, and Lockdown had danced with Prowl. She was glad that the bots were learning to like each other and not just tolerate each other. This dance was a wonderful idea.

* * *

Pandimala was saddened when Jazz finished the last song, which was 'Friends in Low Places' by Garth Brooks. But, the dancing for the song itself had been awesome. They had all gotten into big circles and wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders while singing the lines really loudly and off pitch. Pretty much, the most fun that they could have had at this.

Sighing to herself, she went to announce that the dancing was now over and that she hoped that they all had a nice night when Jazz suddenly said, "Hang on folks. Unbeknownst to the happy couple that we are celebrating tonight, there is one more song."

Pandimala stared in shock at Jazz. What was he talking about? They had said that 'Friends in Low Places' was to be the last song. What was he playing at?

Jazz's smile had her curious as he said, "The last song was supposed to be the last one but Malice approached me earlier tonight and requested that I do a special song for the bonded couple. I of course, whole-sparkedly agreed. So, would the handsome Chaom and the lovely Pandimala please step out to the center of the dance floor?"

Pandimala smiled in embarrassment but gladly took Chaom's servo when he held it out to her and followed him as he led her to the middle of the dance floor.

Pandimala felt nervous when they finally arrived in the middle. She felt as if everyone was just staring at her, almost judging her. She knew it was foolish to think this way but she couldn't help it.

"Don't worry sweetspark, all that we need to worry about right at this moment is me and you." Chaom whispered as he put his right servo on her waist and held her right servo with his left. Pandimala smiled and put her left servo on his shoulder. They then waited for the music to start. Pandimala was slightly surprised when the singing started right away. The song was 'Because You Loved Me' by Celine Dion.

_For all those times you stood by me__  
__For all the truth that you made me see__  
__For all the joy you brought to my life__  
__For all the wrong that you made right__  
__For every dream you made come true__  
__For all the love I found in you__  
__I'll be forever thankful baby__  
__You're the one who held me up__  
__Never let me fall__  
__You're the one who saw me through through it all_

Pandimala leaned into Chaom as they gently swayed to the song. This song was almost exactly how her life had been with Chaom. He had always stood by her in troubling times and he always helped her to see the truth when she couldn't. Chaom was always there to help bring a little bit of happiness to her life and he helped her get over the fact that she had been kicked off of Cybertron by being there for her and loving her.

_You were my strength when I was weak__  
__You were my voice when I couldn't speak__  
__You were my eyes when I couldn't see__  
__You saw the best there was in me__  
__Lifted me up when I couldn't reach__  
__You gave me faith 'coz you believed__  
__I'm everything I am__  
__Because you loved me_

Again, the lyrics hit home with Pandimala. Chaom had always been there to help her when she couldn't do something. When she had felt like she was pathetic and weak and couldn't help anybody, he had the strength to keep her strong and he had the faith in her to follow her no matter how crazy the world got. Pandimala felt herself smile and fill with joy as she stepped in time with Chaom.

_You gave me wings and made me fly__  
__You touched my hand I could touch the sky__  
__I lost my faith, you gave it back to me__  
__You said no star was out of reach__  
__You stood by me and I stood tall__  
__I had your love I had it all__  
__I'm grateful for each day you gave me__  
__Maybe I don't know that much__  
__But I know this much is true__  
__I was blessed because I was loved by you_

As Chaom twirled her around, Pandimala knew that this song must have been written for them. It described all of their times together so perfectly. He always made her spark soar and she knew that she was blessed by Primus to have such an amazing mech as a bondmate.

_You were my strength when I was weak__  
__You were my voice when I couldn't speak__  
__You were my eyes when I couldn't see__  
__You saw the best there was in me__  
__Lifted me up when I couldn't reach__  
__You gave me faith 'coz you believed__  
__I'm everything I am__  
__Because you loved me_

Pandimala smiled and allowed her conscious to zone out so she was just flowing with Chaom's movements, allowing him to take the lead. She loved the mech in front of her and was glad that they had met those stellar cycles ago.

_You were always there for me__  
__The tender wind that carried me__  
__A light in the dark shining your love into my life__  
__You've been my inspiration__  
__Through the lies you were the truth__  
__My world is a better place because of you_

Pandimala reached her spark out to Chaom through their bond. She wanted to enjoy this song with him and be in total peace and happiness with him through the rest of the song. She sent a wave of love when Chaom allowed the entire bond to flow open and Pandimala knew that she was in paradise when she felt all of his love travel to her and intertwine with the feelings of love that she had for him.

_You were my strength when I was weak__  
__You were my voice when I couldn't speak__  
__You were my eyes when I couldn't see__  
__You saw the best there was in me__  
__Lifted me up when I couldn't reach__  
__You gave me faith 'coz you believed__  
__I'm everything I am__  
__Because you loved me_

Bringing her helm up so her optics met with his, Pandimala could see the deep love that she felt through their bond show through his beautiful optics. As she gazed into those optics, she was so very glad that she had went to that first concert all of those stellar cycles ago. If she hadn't, she would have never experienced the joy that she felt at that very moment, dancing with the mech that she loved so much.

_I'm everything I am__  
__Because you loved me_

As the song ended, Pandimala smiled at Chaom and he smiled at her before the two of them joined in a deep, but loved filled kiss. This was a moment of true happiness for Pandimala. She felt all of her worries and sadness just flow away and she didn't want it to end, ever. But, she had to smile in the kiss when she heard the entire crowd cheer and clap. When Chaom smiled into it as well, Pandimala knew that this was the perfect anniversary.

After about half a click of staying connected, Pandimala reluctantly pulled away and walked up to the mic before saying, "Ok everybot, I hope you all had a good time and Chaom and I are so glad that you came. Have a good night bots."

Pandimala then smiled as everyone started to leave, all changed because of this night. No more fearing the other side, but joining servos and seeing how to live together in peace. Pandimala then let out a sigh before joining her bondmate and friends to start cleaning the dome.

* * *

**Authoress: *still crying* OH MY GOSH I USUALLY HATE ROMANCE STUFF LIKE THAT BUT THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL! *continues to cry***

**Pandimala: *cries with Authoress* That was the most beautiful thing that I think I have read from you in a while.**

**Chaom: *nods* Yes, and I am eternally grateful that you allowed us to meet Authoress.**

**Megatron: See, I told you bots that she had another motive for crying that wasn't for killing one of you.**

* * *

**AN: And yes, for anyone who is wondering, I actually cried during that last part. I just couldn't help it. That song fit so perfectly with Pandimala and Chaom that I couldn't stop. Well, crying aside, I hope you all enjoyed this new installment. I know that I did. I have some bad news that I will be delivering next chapter. But, until then, please read and review. But no flames.**


	24. The Paths of Fate

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Well this is it.**

**Pandimala: What do you mean, 'this is it'?**

**Chaom: Yes, we are just getting started. Why are you saying that?**

**Authoress: I say that because this is officially the last chapter in this story. *walks off***

**All bots: *yell* WHAT?**

* * *

Ch. 24: The Paths of Fate

Once the cleanup was done, for the most part, Optimus looked around until he found Elita. She was giving her cloak back to Pandimala. As he was waiting for her to finish talking, his thoughts traveled back to the ball. He hadn't known what to think when Megatron, Megatron, had asked him to dance. It had been such a shock to him that he almost didn't answer. Megatron was the bot that he had fought to the almost end and he had actually almost offlined Megatron. Plus, he was the bot who captured him and put him in the stockades. Optimus thought that Megatron hated him.

But, that had been proven false tonight. Out of all the bots that Megatron could have asked to dance, he had asked him. Plus, not only did they do the required dancing, but Megatron had even preformed and air dance with him. That had been a wonderful experience. He would have been scared if Pandimala hadn't told him to try and have fun with whatever Megatron and Starscream had been planning, which was the dance. But, since he had that warning, he had a blast and he felt like he was flying.

Elita walking up to him had him snapping out of his thoughts and he held out his servo to her before asking, "You ready to go Elita?"

Elita smiled and nodded before saying, "Yep." She then took his servo in hers before the two of them walked outside to the clear Cybertronian night.

As they walked, Optimus couldn't help but stare at Elita. He had been so happy when she had accepted his offer to escort her tonight that he hadn't been able to think straight for the entire solar cycle after that. She was a beautiful femme, both inside and out, and he felt like he wasn't worthy to be with her. But, she was just so beautiful that Optimus couldn't stay away. Her smile, laugh, and her beliefs all made her amazing in his optics.

"Beautiful night out tonight." Elita commented.

"Yes, it sure is." Optimus said, though he was staring at Elita when he said this.

"Do you think that the ball tonight helped our alliances with the Dragon Scouters and the Decepticons grow stronger?" Elita asked.

Optimus nodded and said, "Yeah, I think they did. I know that it helped me trust them a whole lot more and I can now see myself walking up to a Decepticon on the street and talking about random things. I think that dance where they had us dance with a bot from another faction really helped. I noticed that Prowl and Lockdown seemed to not want to kill each other and the other bots seemed to enjoy their dancing."

Elita smirked and said, "I could definitely see how much fun you were having. Did you really feel like you were flying with the air dance?"

They then arrived at Elita's house so he said, "Yes, it was like I was flying and it was wonderful." He then let go of her servo and said, "Well, I hope you have a nice recharge Elita."

She nodded and said, "You too Optimus."

He then watched as she shut the door before he walked back to his place, happier than he ever could be.

* * *

Chaom let out a sigh as he finished cleaning the last bit of decorations from the ball. It was very late and it had been two cycles since the dance had ended. He and Pandimala were the last ones there and he was relieved that they were finally done. But, the dance had helped this alliance greatly. He had seen that after the strange dance where they had to dance with somebot from a different faction. He had ended up dancing with Shockwave and it had been a pleasant enough dance. He and the mech had actually started to talk about some different mechanics to the Cybertronian gene sequence when the song had ended. That had been a very interesting subject.

"Well, that certainly took longer than I thought it would." Pandimala said with an exhausted sigh.

Chaom's thoughts then went to Pandimala and he frowned slightly. He knew that she was having major problems recharging lately and he knew that staying up this late tonight wasn't going to help at all. So, he walked over to her and said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I am seeing a very comfortable berth in our near future. Let's head on home."

Pandimala nodded and said, "Let's go. I just have to lock up but we need to be outside for that." She smiled at the last part.

He knew that she was trying to make it look like she was less tired then she was so he quickly went ahead of her and held open the door for her as she walked outside. She smiled and nodded toward him before saying, "Thank you darling."

He smiled right back and nodded before saying, "Anything for a gorgeous femme like you."

He then shut the door and stepped back as she came up and took out the key before locking the doors. After giving them an experimental tug to make sure that they were truly locked, Pandimala wrapped her left arm in his right one before saying, "Let's get home Chaom. I want to get to sleep before I have to go to that meeting tomorrow."

They then began to walk. Once they had set a good pace, he turned to her and said, "Pandimala darling, you are not going to that meeting. I'll go and you will stay home and get some sleep. This solar cycle is going to have you exhausted tomorrow and I don't think the other bots will like it if the leader of a faction falls asleep during a meeting."

"But you are going to be just as tired as I will be Chaom." Pandimala argued.

He shook his helm and said, "While I will be as tired, they won't care as much if the second in command falls asleep. Plus, I quite enjoyed the nap I got the other solar cycle when Dragstrip started to talk about something."

He smiled when she let out a laugh and said, "You are impossible Chaom. Can't I win any of these?"

He let out a chuckle of his own and shook his helm before saying, "Sorry dear, not when you are this tired; maybe later when you are not going to be tired when I agree with you."

She leaned her helm against his shoulder and said, "I love you Chaom. You are the best mech that a femme could ask for."

Chaom smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her helm before saying, "Of course, you are the most wonderful femme that a simple mech like me could have ever hoped to find. Primus only knows what would have happened if we had never met, and he can keep that information. I never want to experience life without you."

The two of them then walked the rest of the way home in a peaceful silence. As he walked, Chaom glanced up at the star filled sky and smiled. Fate had definitely shown down on him when he had met Pandimala. It was a one in a million chance that two Cybertronian soliforms would happen to meet at a concert on Earth and that they would become close friends and fall in love as humans and then still accept each other when they revealed their true selves.

When they arrived at their home, Chaom and Pandimala went straight for the berth and snuggled next to each other before starting their recharge sequences. Before he let his consciousness go, Chaom allowed one final thought to go through his processor.

He was one lucky mech.

* * *

Sentinel scowled as he paced in his room. He hated that the blasted war had ended peacefully when he felt like it should have ended with the Decepticons all terminated and the helm of Megatron sitting next to his throne as he took his place as Magnus. Now, thanks to that freak Pandimala and those bots that follow her in that mock up of a faction, he now had to live peacefully with the fraggers who destroyed their home like nothing happened.

Then, Pandi had the nerve to host a fragging ball and invite all bots of the higher ranking plus all of the bots that she knew. He had been surprised and upset when he had received one of those fragging invitations. Sentinel hadn't thought that the slagging triple changer couple would have invited him seeing as how he was pretty sure that they hated him almost as much as he hated them. He was also upset because he knew that he would have to go to the thing because of all the high ranking Autobots that would be there that he would have the chance to suck up to.

Growling to himself, he was about to get into his berth when he suddenly got a private message. Curious, he opened it and was surprised that it was a blocked sender. He read the message.

_Sentinel Prime, we have heard about how much you despise the Dragon Scouters. We want to meet you to see just how far you are willing to go to get them off of Cybertron, the Decepticons with them. Also, we plan on putting the Autobots in their place and remind them of what fear is like again. We will show them that only the strong can survive in this world efficiently. Meet us at these coordinates in fifteen clicks. Don't be late. This is a onetime offer._

_ Signed, The Virons_

Sentinel paced as he read the message. The coordinates were only a two click walk from his location but he decided to use some of the extra time to think about this. He wasn't sure that he wanted to risk betraying the Autobots. But, as he thought about it, he realized that they had grown soft if they were just simply allowing the Scouters and 'Cons on Cybertron peacefully and without any sort of restrictions or repercussions. Growling to himself, he decided to go and meet with these 'Viron' characters. They seemed to have their helms screwed on straight.

The wind was slightly blowing when Sentinel arrived at the entrance to an old abandoned factory. He had made sure that he was not followed and he saw that he had one click to get inside. So, after double checking that no bot followed him, Sentinel entered the building.

The lights flaring to life as soon as he entered caused him to squint his optics. After a few nano-clicks, he finally had his sight fixed and he glanced around. He was surprised to see six bots covered completely in black cloaks. What as their game? "Ok, I'm here. Who are you and how can you do what you promised?"

The one in the middle stepped forward, keeping their helm down, before saying in a mech voice, "Our identities will be revealed to you in a few clicks. We will be bringing down this peace the most effective way possible; we will start a war between the factions."

* * *

Pandimala felt like her spark was racing. She was in the middle of a strange recharge dream. She felt like she was running in circles. No matter which way she turned, she always ended up at the edge of the same sink hole, wires sticking out of all ends. She felt like she was cornered, trapped. And with each change of direction she took, she felt like the area that she could run on was growing smaller and smaller. Remembering that she could fly, she activated her thrusters before flying up into Cybertron's orbit. She felt her spark freeze and she gasped at what she saw. She was not running around any sink hole, but she had been running into the edges of Cybertron. The planet that she called home was now in half, the missing piece, Pandimala wasn't sure where. She screamed as she watched the planet slowly deteriorate itself.

Pandimala awoke with a gasp. She had experienced nightmares before, but none as powerful as that. She had felt like she was actually on Cybertron and that the planet beneath her pedes was real. When she felt Chaom sit up and wrap his arms around her shoulders, she could feel that she was shaking uncontrollably. She also noticed that her intakes were short and jagged.

"Pandimala, what happened? Are you alright?" Chaom asked her with worry as he embraced her closely.

"It, it was a bad recharge dream." Pandimala answered with a hiccup in her voice.

"Can you tell me what it was about?" He asked in a soft whisper.

She shook for a few nano clicks more before nodding and saying, "I was on Cybertron. I was running but I kept running into the edge of a sink hole with wires sticking out of it. No matter which direction I went, I always ran into the same hole. Then, I remembered that I could fly so I activated my thrusters and flew to Cybertron's orbit. That's when I saw it." She then paused and shook harder as the memory of what she saw came back to her, piercing her thoughts.

Chaom pulled her closer before asking, "Can you tell me what you saw dear?"

After a click, she nodded and said, "It was Cybertron, and it was cut in half and I couldn't see the other piece. The sink hole that I had been running into was the edge of the planet. It was just gone. Then, the planet, our home, started to deteriorate slowly. That was when I woke up."

The feelings of love and support that she was receiving from Chaom were helping her to calm down. But, she couldn't get the image of Cybertron out of her helm.

"Pandimala, don't worry. I am right here and nothing is going to happen to Cybertron while we are here." Chaom said as he started to rock her front to back.

After a few clicks, Pandimala smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the lips before saying, "Thank you dear. Now, we should get some recharge. You have to get up early for a meeting tomorrow and I have to sleep my processor out."

She smiled when Chaom hugged her and said, "Yes dear, and don't forget to fill up on your energon when you wake up."

She nodded and went to lie back down on her berth. But, just as she was about to lay her back against the berth, she felt her tanks churn a little. That was weird; she hadn't had any form of high grade for many solar cycles, thirty at least, and she knew that she shouldn't be feeling this way. She then went to sit up but let out a moan as her tanks churned even worse than they had when she tried to lie down.

"Pandimala, are you ok?" Chaom asked in worry as he sat up again.

Pandimala went to nod as an answer, not trusting her voice, when she felt her tanks churn even more. Not wasting a single nano click, she sprinted out of their berth and ran to their personal was racks before purging her tanks. She felt terrible and she didn't know why.

A click later, she felt Chaom's supporting servo on her shoulder and massage her. She risked a quick glance up and saw that he was holding a cube of low grade, the best thing to ingest after purging. She would have smiled but her tanks lurched again and she purged her tanks even more. She felt like she was going to purge her spark if she kept this up.

Luckily, her tanks were soon empty and they finally settled down. Pandimala scooted against the wall and leaned against it. When Chaom sat down next to her and handed her the low grade, she gratefully took it before slowly drinking it. She knew she couldn't just chug it because then she would just upset her tanks again.

Once the cube was done, Chaom led her back to their berth and he laid her down before lying down next to her and saying, "Pandimala, I want you to go and pay Balm a visit tomorrow as soon as you wake up. I think that something is wrong."

Pandimala wanted to argue, but she knew that he was right. So, she nodded before cuddling next to him and falling into recharge.

* * *

**Chaom: You can't end this like that! That is completely immoral. We have to know why this stuff is happening to 'Mala.**

**Megatron: Yes, and we will find out Authoress, so you had better not stop this.**

**Ultra Magnus: Indeed, and I will send our best hackers in to change this story from finished to still in progress.**

**Authoress: *sigh* I said that this story was done. I didn't say anything about there not being a story that is following this.**

**All Bots: *stare at her in shock***

* * *

**AN: Like it says above, I am finally finished with this specific story, but there will be a third story to the Journey Chronicles. I am almost positive that it will be called, 'The End of the Path'. I hope you all liked this. If you have any guesses about what happened this chapter, send me a p.m. and, while I won't tell you if you are right or wrong, it will tell me how I am leading you all with these stories. I will try to get the next story up as soon as possible. Well, this is DragonScouter signing out for the last time on this story. Please read and review. But no flames.**


End file.
